Dark Objects

Dark Objects by Simon Toyne
7/12/22; 400 pages
HarperCollins

Dark Objects by Simon Toyne is a highly recommended police procedural.

When a woman is murdered in a London mansion there are several questions that immediately come forth. The woman has 4 objects surrounding her, a stuffed unicorn, a couple of medals, set of keys, and the book, How to Process a Murder by Laughton Rees. The book may have actually assisted the killer in committing the crime without leaving clues for the forensic team. Even more puzzling is the fact that the woman, Kate Miller, does not seem to exist and neither does her husband, Mike. There is no real information on either of them.

Detective Chief Inspector Tannahill Khan of the North London Murder Squad investigates the murder. A complication is immediately part of the case as Laughton Rees is the estranged daughter of Metropolitan Police Commissioner John Rees, Laughton is having concerns about her daughter and bullying in the school she attends. Somehow the killer has made Laughton part of the investigation and perhaps even a target.

The opening is very strong and crates tension immediately. After this the point-of-view alternates between several narrators, mainly Tannahill or Laughton as well as other characters, and the rise of the tension slows down as information is uncovered. Part of the plot includes Laughton's backstory and the ongoing problems with her teenage daughter. Laughton adds a real depth to the story. Both Tannahill and Laughton are appealing characters and work well together.

This is an extremely well written  thriller that should appeal to all those who enjoy and appreciate police procedurals. I did feel like the tension and appeal lessened a bit after the initial opening but then increase again closer to the ending. There are some twists and surprises and the ending ties up all the storylines.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the HarperCollins via Edelweiss.

Cold, Cold Bones

Cold, Cold Bones by Kathy Reichs
7/5/22; 352 pages
Scribner
Temperance Brennan Series #21

Cold, Cold Bones by Kathy Reichs is a highly recommended novel of suspense and the twenty-first in the Temperance (Tempe) Brennan Series.

Forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan is helping her daughter Katy unpack after returning to civilian life from the army. The two meets at Tempe's to eat when they find a box on the back porch containing a human eyeball. What's even more strange is that there are GPS coordinates etched into the eyeball which lead Tempe and Skinny to a Benedictine monastery where the answer to the missing eyeball is found and more questions arise. When a mummified corpse shows up in a state park, Tempe notices a pattern, a pattern that continues in the novel.

Detective Erskine "Skinny" Slidell, now retired but still volunteering with the CMPD cold case unit, is there to help. It seems that someone is killing people in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area in such a way to mimic or reenact Tempe's former cases. There is a copycat killer out there who has a grudge against Tempe, but what is the motive? Things escalate when Katie disappears and Tempe worries that she is a victim of the killer.

With the active copycat killer there are a whole caseload of former investigations presented in the narrative, which makes for a good way to build the tension and suspense in the plot while providing the numerous details about the current and former homicides. Tempe is her usual self with plenty of sarcastic comments and Skinny is the same great detective but dedicated curmudgeon he usually is.

Those who are familiar with the series will appreciate and enjoy this latest installment. The interest here is in the cases themselves and following the clues rather than the motivation of the killer. In fact many readers will likely know who is responsible before it is made clear in the plot. Anyone new to the series can still enjoy Cold, Cold Boness and will find it compelling and entertaining. There is enough background information provided on the characters to keep you interested without feeling as if you are missing some important information.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Scribner via NetGalley.

The Lost

The Lost by Jeffrey B. Burton
6/28/22; 288 pages
Minotaur Books
Mace Reid K-9 Mystery #3

The Lost by Jeffrey B. Burton is a highly recommended K-9 mystery/procedural and the third book in the Mace Reid series.

Mace Reid and his human remains detection (HRD) dog, a golden retriever named Vira, are called out to the estate of Kenneth J. Druckman where a home invasion and robbery turned into a kidnapping. His wife and their five-year-old daughter are missing, as well as all of his wife's jewelry. Vira searches for remains and finds his wife's body, but returns back to the house, leading Mace and Chicago police detective Kippy Gimm, to suspect that Druckman had something to do with the murder. Now the search is on for his daughter and the truth behind the purported home invasion and robbery.

It is always a pleasure to read Burton's K-9 novels. If you love mysteries and dogs this is a series for you. As the third book in the series featuring Mace Reid and his pack of dogs, The Lost follows The Finders (2020) and The Keepers (2021). Although it is not necessary to read the first two books in order to enjoy The Lost, you will likely want to do so after reading it. This is an entertaining and exciting case where the tension is often softened by Mace's humor and observations.

The excellent writing helps create tension and suspense while holding your interest with a fast pace and intricate plot. This time the complex plot involves billionaires scheming, deceit, kidnapping, murder, stolen jewels, and more. After a startling opening chapter you will have to keep reading to see how it all fits into the overall plot. I liked the chapters going back in time following the events that led up to the kidnapping. Once the two story lines merge the tension is palpable and the action really takes off. This has consistently been a good series.

At this point Mace is a fully realized likeable character with flaws and strengths. He continues to have a nice balance of analytical abilities and irreverent humor, and even a good dose of self-deprecating humor as he talks to his pack. You will root for him, his dogs, and for Kippy Gimm. They are all believable characters. The dogs - Vira, Sue, the German Shepard, and collies Maggie May and Delta Dawn and blood hound Bill (Billie Boy) - are all characters too and you'll see their individual personalities.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Minotaur Books via NetGalley.

Outside

Outside by Ragnar Jónasson
6/28/22; 352 pages
St. Martin's Press

Outside by Ragnar Jónasson is a recommended psychological thriller set in Iceland.

Four friends, Daniel, Gunnlauger, Armann, and Helena are on a reunion vacation in the Icelandic highlands hunting for ptarmigan when a blizzard strikes while they are out, away from the hunting lodge. Armann, who leads tours of Iceland, knows there is a safety hut nearby where they can take shelter and wait out the storm. As the group face frostbite or worse getting to the hut, they finally find it. When they get inside, however, none of them are expecting what awaits them within.

In this Nordic noir thriller each chapter is narrated by one the four characters. As their individual points-of-view propel the plot forward, we are also privy to their inner thoughts and feelings about members of the group. They have been friends for many years so they have a history between them and know each other's flaws, however they may not know the secrets they hold.

The novel opens with the brutal trek through the blizzard to the shelter where we know something terrible and frightening is already inside. Then the narrative jumps back in time to the start of their vacation and the history of their friendship, allowing the tension and suspense to build while leading up to the hut, what is inside, and what happens next. The brutal, unforgiving weather adds a dimension to the tension in the plot.

I was engrossed in the story right up to almost the end at which point I had to suspend disbelief and the final, abrupt denouement left me cold and wanting.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

Little Sister

Little Sister by Gytha Lodge
6/28/22; 400 pages
Penguin Random House
DCI Jonah Sheens #4

Little Sister by Gytha Lodge is a very highly recommended police procedural and psychological thriller. This is the fourth book in the series featuring DCI Jonah Sheens and his team of the Southampton PD.

Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens is with his infant daughter in a pub garden when a red headed teenager with her hands covered in blood wanders out of the woods and toward the pub. He asks the girl, Keely Lennox, 16, if she needs help to which she replies she doesn't but her sister Nina, 14, does. The two sisters disappeared from a children's home a week earlier. When questioning her about Nina's location, Keely says that they must listen to her whole story from the beginning to the end in order to learn where Nina is located.

Once at the police station, Keely makes it clear that their story involves three men who have been abusers. She then proceeds to tell her story while displaying an emotionless flat affect. It is clear to Jonah that Keely is very clever, but is she also a sociopath? Keely will answer no direct questions and will only tell her story, insisting that the clues are all there for them to find Nina. Jonah and his team of DS Ben Lightman, DS Domnall O'Malley, and DC Juliette Hanson, are all scrambling to find the hidden clues in her story and investigate the lives of the girls in a frantic effort to find Nina.

For anyone who enjoys procedurals, Little Sister is a perfect choice. Although it is the third in the series, following She Lies in Wait, Watching from the Dark, and Lie Beside Me, I felt that it could be read as a stand alone. You're going to miss some character background information, but the suspense and intrigue in this case will eclipse any questions concerning character development. This is really the strongest novel in the series and an excellent police procedural and psychological thriller.

The writing is exceptional, with an intricate and clever plot that keeps a fast pace throughout. The team has to use all their skills and wit to discover the clues Keely is leaving and uncover the dark deeds she wants them to investigate while listening to her tale. And the things she wants them to discover are sinister. There are several big twists in the course of the investigation, and several of these will change your entire outlook on the case. You won't be able to predict where this novel is heading but you will be glued to the pages while trying to get there.

After reading other novels in the series, these are well established characters for me, but I really do think you can read this one without the previous three novels. The narrative alternates between the point-of-view of Jonah, Keely, and Juliette Hanson. The focus of the plot is Keely's story and the intense investigation rather than the character's lives, which makes it easy to jump right into the story without much background information on the team members. 

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House via NetGalley.

The Girl Who Survived

The Girl Who Survived by Lisa Jackson
6/28/22; 384 pages
Kensington

The Girl Who Survived by Lisa Jackson is a very highly recommended riveting thriller.

At seven-years-old Kara McIntyre is a survivor of a Christmas Eve massacre that wiped out her family. Her sister Marlie helped her hide, which led to Kara's survival, but then Marlie disappeared. Since that horrific night Kara has been struggling with her memories, recurring nightmares, and anxiety. Her brother Jonas was convicted of the murders but now, twenty years later, he is being released after a technicality and Detectives Thomas and Johnson are back on the case, reviewing all the evidence. Kara is unsure what to think. What she does know is that the release of Jonas brings with it a media frenzy as well as reopening all of her memories. And now someone is texting her about Marlie, saying "She is alive."

The opening of this intriguing novel will immediately capture your attention as it follows seven-year-old Kara during that gruesome night of blood shed. This will immediately elicit sympathy and you will care about what happens to Kara, especially when it becomes clear that the killer is not done and people involved in the case are starting to die again. Could it be Jonas? Or is the real killer still out there? Can Kara survive again?

Kara is a fully realized character and was portrayed in a realistic manner. Enough information is provided about the other characters to give background and keep the plot moving and introduce suspects.

The writing is excellent in this un-put-downable thriller. The plot is complex and moves at a quick pace. The narrative mainly follows Kara's point-of-view, with some chapters following Detectives Thomas and Johnson reopening the case, Wesley Tate, a reporter and son of the man who saved Kara, as well as a few other characters. When murders start happening again, you won't know who to believe as the suspense and tension rises. I was totally engrossed in from the beginning to the end.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Kensington via NetGalley.

After Everyone Else

After Everyone Else by Leslie Hooton
6/28/22; 352 pages
Turner Publishing Group

After Everyone Else by Leslie Hooton is a highly recommended family drama.

Bailey has just been charges with the murder of her ex-husband. She knows she is innocent and can explain all the DNA evidence, but she is also concerned that someone she loves, either her husband of 23 years Griffin or their daughter, Charlie, is responsible for the death. This novel is about the intricacy and challenges of marriage and motherhood and the lengths Bailey will go to protect the ones she loves.

The narration alternates between chapters set in the past, which cover when Bailey and Griffin are first married, the arrival of Charlie, and their life leading up to the current situation, and chapters from the present, which cover the murder investigation. Frankly the current now chapters are not as interesting and don't hold the weight of the before chapters. The murder charges, although starting out the novel, are really more of an afterthought when actually reading. The true focus of the novel is the story of the family.

The quality of the writing is quite good and the plot and actions flows smoothly while reading. This is really more of a family drama/chick lit than murder mystery, so keep that in mind if you are looking for a novel featuring an intricate mystery and investigation. The interest and appeal are found in the family history and the investigation is simply an extension of the story of the family. After Everyone Else follows a previous novel, Before Anyone Else which also features Bailey's life. I felt like After Everyone Else worked as a stand alone, however I haven't read the first novel.

If you are looking for a tense, compelling murder mystery, pass this one by. If you appreciate women's fiction and family dramas that cover a span of years, this might be an excellent choice for you.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Turner Publishing Group.