Tag: mystery

This Chicks Audio Review: The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet—until the tranquility is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who’d happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation, and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.

Best-selling Australian crime author, Hannah Tigone, is crafting a novel set in the Boston Public Library. As she write this story, about these four people who were brought together by that scream, the reader also reads chapters from another source. Hannah is sharing each chapter with one of her readers, a man named Leo. As he reads each chapter he makes corrections and give critiques, but as the chapter go on, we realize that Leo knows a lot about murder and he may be slightly unhinged.

Narrated by Katherine Littrell, who does an absolutely amazing job. This story within a story is deftly written and absolutely riveting and her narration adds to the secret sauce that makes this story so good. In fact, this could have been a really confusing book to listen to, but Katherine Littrell’s inflections and accents made the characters easily identifiable and I was able to follow the story and enjoy the journey. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Woman in the Library

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*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chicks Audio Review: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m way behind on reading this bestseller. It came out in 2016 and I think I must’ve purchased the audio book with a credit and had it sitting there since then. Why I decided to listen to this book now? I’ve gotten into a mystery kick with my audible books and have quite a few of them purchased already. I’ve heard both good and bad things about his one but luckily couldn’t remember much else although I know the author is well renowned. What a fun surprise!

Lo Blacklock is a journalist writing for a travel magazine. She is booked to go on an exclusive cruise targeting the upper income travelers when her flat is broken into the night before, while she is sleeping in it. Needlessly rattled, she doesn’t want to give up her trip feeling like this is her opportunity to prove to her editor that she’s ready for that next leap in her career. She arrives for the cruise, her nerves are shot, she’s drinking too much, oh and she thinks she see’s someone dump a body off the boat. Needless to say, this is not the relaxing trip that she was looking for, in fact, as she reports it to the crew she begins to wonder if it’s all just in her head.

Narrated by Imogen Church with a natty British accent, she imbues Lo with that perfect mix of nerves and fortitude. The tension ratcheting with every interview. I was glued to this book not wanting to go to work, take a shower, and cook dinner for the family. I just wanted to know what happened! Isn’t that the best feeling in the world?

Lo was a heroine with a ton of flaws and in the beginning, not very likable. Every time she took I drink I cringed, wanting her to stop drinking and just take a rest and recover her nerves. The cast of characters on the ship were stereotypes and kind of one dimensional but they gave the reader a break from the always layered reactions from our heroine and were kind of a shelter from the tension. As the novel moved forward and Lo gained strength in body and mind, I grew to admire her fortitude and definitely rooted for a resolution that would find her safe and happy. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Woman in Cabin 10

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*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chicks Audio Review: Who Speaks for the Damned (Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries #15) By C.S. Harris

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is brought in to investigate the murder of the son of the Earl of Seaford. Long thought dead, after sent off to Botany Bay after being tried for murder, Nicholas Hayes turns up alive in London where he looks up Sebastian’s valet, Jules Calhoun. With Calhoun’s help, Sebastian starts to piece together his last days as well as the days 18 years before when he was accused and found guilty of murder.

Narrated by the estimable Davina Porter, the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries is one of my favorite series when I know I’ll have time to really listen to the details this very talented writer builds into her novels. All of the characters in this world are fully developed and each book releases another mystery about one of our main characters that keeps me coming back.

The mystery in Who Speaks for the Damned centers around a man who had been though dead for years, but when he shows back up in London with a small child Sebastian unearths a handful of villainous characters who may or may not be the murderer. At the heart of the story is the search for the child who is now all alone on the mean streets of 18th century London. A small child can easily come to harm and the way the author created tension through the emotions the females in this novel felt regarding this lost child really helped to amp up the need to find the killer.

As usual, the author really gives a multi-layered view of society during the 18th century in London. From street sweepers to the Prince Regent you can see the different ways each layer of society lived and how privileged the nobility were during this time. That is another reason why I love these books because our hero, despite being a Viscount, believes that every person deserves recognition and their loves should be honored. This is why he investigates their murders. A very noble Noble!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this audiobook!* Who Speaks for the Damned

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Liar’s Point (The Texas Murder Files #5) by Laura Griffin

It’s par for the course when a murder cuts short the first date Nicole Lawson has had in months. A body has been discovered at Light House point and a yoga instructor called it in. When Nicole interviews the woman she feels as if their only witness is holding something back. Lead investigator, Emmet Davis, has been Nicole’s rival and secret crush but when another body turns up she needs to set aside those feelings and work with Emmet to find out who is targeting their hometown.

I’ve enjoyed The Texas Murder Files series and have watched Nicole and Emmet tip-toeing around each other through four other books. I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure how Laura Griffin was going to pull off a mystery and a romance between these two, but Liar’s Point had an ease to it that gave the story a casual feel that fit the beach setting. The only tension, really, was the kind of high strung Nicole. As the only female detective in her department she feels like she’s fighting for position among the men but really she is the best detective they’ve got and her instincts are spot on.

The mystery itself wasn’t difficult to follow and I enjoyed the interactions between the characters, but I’ll admit it was the dynamic between Emmet and Nicole that I looked forward to reading. Readers have been waiting a long time for these two to get together. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Liar’s Point

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: The Boy Who Cried Bear (Haven’s Rock #2) by Kelley Armstrong

Finally at home in their new Haven’s Rock, Casey and Eric are sheltering a family from the Witness Protection Program that includes two children, one a ten year old names Max. While on a nature walk through the woods Max spots a bear trailing their group. When he later goes missing they are fearful that they have a predator tracking their group, but is it of the animal variety?

I’m a big fan of Casey Duncan, the main protagonist in this series. A very smart investigator and interesting human, I’ve watched her character grow, fall in love, deal with family issues,find murderers, etc. in both the Rockton series and now this spin-off of Haven’s Rock. In this novel we dig even deeper into Casey’s psyche opening up some of her secret fears to the reader. She was already pretty humanized, but I love these additional glimpses into her person. She and her husband Eric are still together, in love, and now in a new environment. They are no longer sheriff and investigator but they continue to act in that capacity and this mystery is especially intense because it involves a missing child.

We are still getting to know some of the newer characters in Haven’s Rock and not all of them are respectable. The group of miners not too far from Haven’s Rock adds an eerie, dangerous vibe to the story. Their interactions are fraught with tension and the developing drama between them and Haven’s Rock is setting us up for future transgressions. I love it.

If you like somewhat dark relationship novels, I think you’ll love the quirky landscape that is Haven’s Rock. I’d start with the first book in the series, but this one carried on in the mysterious tradition and I know I’ll keep following where this author leads me. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Boy Who Cried Bear

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*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Cheater (The San Diego Case Files #2) by Karen Rose

When a resident of premier Shady Oaks Retirement village is found brutally stabbed in his apartment, Detective Kit McKittrick is assigned the case. What she starts to uncover are many closets filled with skeletons and most of the tenants want to keep their secrets hidden. Dr. Sam Reeves volunteers to play the piano for the residents of Shady Oaks and crosses paths with the detective. A path she’s avoided since they last met on a previous case six months prior. Kit has trouble trusting anyone but Sam evokes emotions she’d rather deny.

I didn’t read the first book in this series and while I’d have liked to know Sam and Kit’s history, I don’t think I missed too much. Karen Rose did a good job of filling in the reader without re-hashing all of the details, so this book reads like a stand along mystery. I will be picking up that first book and catching up though because I really enjoyed this story and their connection. I was also really surprised at the intricacies in the mystery. Whereas I did guess the killer, it did take me a little while and the journey was completely enjoyable.

Karen Rose did a great job of giving these characters depth and building their back story. I loved Kit’s history of being in a foster home and how she had that soft spot for kids who lived on the street. It added a lot to explain her stand offishnes and made the impact of her building trust with Sam that much greater.

If you like light mysteries with great characters, I think Cheater was an interesting and entertaining read. It is not a romance, but there is a bit of romantic suspense built into the story. There is also a bit of humor and a lot of emotion. This was a well rounded story and I enjoyed it a lot. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* Cheater

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*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: Dead Letter Days (Haven’s Rock #.5) by Kelley Armstrong

A prequel to the off-shoot of the Casey Duncan series, Dead Letter Days takes place when Casey and Eric are at a lodge with the other townspeople from Rockton as they are waiting for their new town, Haven’s Rock, to be built. Someone in their group plants fake dead bodies in the woods around the lodge as a joke because Casey has stumbled across quite a few dead bodies in her time as an investigator, but in this case the mystery she stumbles upon is for a cold case of a missing person. As she and Eric investigate, Eric learns some things about his past that he’ll need to make a decision on so that he can move forward with a clean slate in his new life.

This short novella was unusual in that it didn’t actually involve any dead bodies and was missing the eeriness of some of the Rockton mysteries. In fact, they mystery Casey and Eric ended up solving gave these characters a small bit of peace. I enjoyed the different feel of this novel. Despite the things Eric finds out about his past, which cause him a bit of distress, it seems like a happy time for these characters and the mood in the writing reflected that. It was a nice change.

There isn’t too much to say about this because it was only about 100 pages and I don’t want to give any details away, but I enjoyed this short story. What I learned about the characters set’s the reader up for the first novel in the next series and I’m looking forward to seeing how these characters grow into their new place. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Dead Letter Days

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

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This Chick Read: The Beautiful and the Wild by Peggy Townsend

Liv Russell is being held hostage in a shipping container turned storage shed by the man she once loved, and the father of her child, her husband Mark. After faking his own death, Liv happens upon a clue that makes her think her husband Mark is still alive. Leaving their home behind, Liv packs up the car with her belongings and her son, Xander and drives to Alaska to the small town of Cohut where she finds Mark shacking up with a young woman. Confronting him, he tricks her into the storage container and locks her in, where she remains for days, trying to figure a way out.

The pace of this novel is very slow and methodical, which fits with the actions taking place. There is a bit of set up and flashbacks to Liv and Mark’s previous life, but in present time, locked in a container, there isn’t a lot of action. This may bother some people but I must’ve been in the mood to read a psychological thriller because this pace helped me settle in and get into these character’s heads. While Liv isn’t the heroine that I normally root for, her situation of being trapped and separation from her special needs child, Xander made me curious to see where this author was going to take this story. I will admit, I didn’t expect it to head in the direction it did.

Usually flashbacks annoy the heck out of me, but it was a great tool to show the difference between Liv as she was when she and Mark met, and the woman who came to Alaska and found herself in this situation. The flashbacks also showed contrasts between what Liv thought of as charm but should have been warning signs in the man she came to love. Mark’s slow dissolution from loving husband to what he becomes later in this novel was deftly written and if you have the patience, I think worth the slow build up to the conclusion.

This was not the type of thriller where people are in chases, fights, etc. This is a true psychological thriller that was slow paced and very well written. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Beautiful and the Wild

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (8/7/23)

JUST FINISHED

What a spooky, eerie, kind of gory thriller. I loved the characters, but I’ll admit that I thought the plot was drawn out a little too long. I don’t read a lot of mysteries, so that might be party of it, but I think this author could’ve wrapped up sooner.

JUST STARTED

A debut novel by this author, My Roommate is a Vampire is fun but also seems to take this subject matter seriously. hink 18th century vampire meets 20th century heroine. I’m just getting into it and I’m interested to see how this plot resolves.

Have a great Monday and happy reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (7/31/23)

OK, I know I said a couple of weeks ago that I love the summer when it’s hot outside and I can curl up inside in the air conditioning with a good book, but this weather is ridiculous! In Nashville it’s been triple digits and it’s pretty hard to cool down even with air conditioning. Regardless, I am still curling up with a good book… or two.

JUST FINISHED

It’s a good thing the weather was so hot because I chose to listen to this novel and it’s fast paced action sequences, fight against good & evil, and love story were hard to set aside. Oh, and did I say there was dragons????!!! I LOVE dragons!

JUST STARTED

After the action in Fourth Wing, I needed a genre switch and chose Beneath Dark Waters. This novel started off with a jolt and I’m loving the heroine so far. Can’t wait to see where it leads.

Are you staying out of the heat? Hang in there with a good book!

Have a great Monday and happy reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads