The Harmony Scroll (Stella Hunter Mystery Series: Peacetaker: Book 2) by Edita A. Petrick

The Harmony Scroll (Peacetaker Series Book 2) by [Petrick, Edita A.]

Publisher:

Date of publication: May 27th, 2017

Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

Series: The Stella Hunter Mystery Series: Peacetaker

Ribbons of Death—Book 1 (review here)

The Harmony Scroll—Book 2

The Byzantine Connection—Book 3 (review here)

Arachne’s Challenge—Book 4

Doomsday Hand—Book 5

Seals of Eternity—Book 6

Goodreads Synopsis:

Book 2 – Stella Hunter Mysteries
Stella Hunter’s adopted son was born with a curse. The curse lies dormant within him and the amulets that awaken it have been destroyed, but the curse is still a death sentence shadowing Gabriel’s life. Stella discovers Gabriel can be free of the curse forever. But the golden scroll holding the incantation that can free him was lost twelve hundred years ago. Now, knowing she can get her hands on the scroll, Stella will go to hell and back to save her son… and heaven help anyone who gets in her way!

This book starts about a year after Ribbons of Death ended. Carter undergoes plastic surgery to fix his face. While Carter is in rehab, he notices something off with a psychologist he is mandated to see. Then he hears that Gabriel and Stella were killed when their house exploded due to faulty wiring. He discovers more to these “deaths” than meets the eye. Stella and Gabe aren’t dead but are held hostage by sinister forces. After Carter frees them, they start on a multi-country jaunt to find the Harmony Scroll. A scroll that can get rid of Gabe’s Peacekeeper curse.

I did like this book. I loved that I got to see a softer side of Carter. I saw some of the romance hinted at in Ribbons of Death.

Stella and Gabe’s dynamic was great too. It evolved into a true mother/son dynamic. He even went from calling her Zee to Mom during the book.

I liked that instead of going all over the US, the characters were taken on a jaunt all over Europe this time. The violence seemed muted, almost. People still got killed, but it was through the police telling Stella and Carter.

The ending was anticlimactic. I thought I had missed something and had to reread the last chapters a few times before the “aha” moment.

I would recommend The Harmony Scrolls to anyone over 16. There is violence and language.

If you enjoyed reading The Harmony Scrolls, then you will enjoy reading these books:

Ribbons of Death (Stella Hunter Mystery Series: Peacetaker: Book 1) by Edita A. Petrick

Ribbons of Death (Peacetaker Series Book 1) by [Petrick, Edita A.]

Publisher: Edita A. Petrick

Date of Publication: May 23rd, 2017

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Action, Suspense, Fiction

Series: Stella Hunter Mystery Series: Peacetaker

Ribbons of Death—Book 1

The Harmony Scroll—Book 2 (review here)

The Byzantine Connection—Book 3 (review here)

Arachne’s Challenge—Book 4

Doomsday Hand—Book 5

Seals of Eternity—Book 6

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | AbeBooks | Indigo | Kobo

Goodreads Synopsis:

A career soldier who survived a deadly riot in Cairo, and a reclusive mythology expert from Montana, race against time to find the product of legends that’s cutting a bloody path across the continent.
***
One snowy evening, a stranger with a horribly scarred face stomps on the porch of Stella Hunter’s house, holding her latest book of myths and legends. He points to the bloody fingerprints of the book’s now deceased owner, marking a passage of the Peacetaker myth. When she asks how he came by the book, he tells her he took the controversial book from the lifeless hand of a traffic fatality in Cairo. And suddenly, Stella could swear that somewhere a clock started ticking down to doomsday. After all, the fate of humanity depends on whether she was right or wrong when she wrote her infamous book.

This book had a slow start. For the first few chapters, I didn’t know where the author would go with it. After the carnage of the demonstration and meeting Agent Carter, it more than delivered.

Carter was a mysterious person, and I learned about his background throughout the book.

Stella Hunter wasn’t mysterious. What you see is what you get with her. I love that she is ditzy, super smart, and not afraid to punch someone if needed.

The author also made no qualms about naming the bad guys in this book. She comes right out in the first two chapters and names them. The rest of the book is dedicated to finding The Peacemaker and his handler. And, of course, having Stella and Carter outwit the bad guy’s minions. Loved it!!

There was a slight romantic connection between Carter and Stella. No sex or anything but something deeper. I can’t wait to see if the author decides if they will be linked in the upcoming books!!

The ending was great, but it wasn’t what I expected. It did pave the way for the next book.

I would recommend Ribbons of Death to anyone over 16. There is language and violence, but no sex.

If you enjoyed reading Ribbons of Death, you will enjoy reading these books:

Resthaven by Erik Therme

Publisher: Thecker Books

Date of publication: April 12th, 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Horror, Suspense, Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller

Goodreads Synopsis:

The last thing fifteen-year-old Kaylee wants to do is participate in a childish scavenger hunt–especially inside the abandoned retirement home on the edge of town. When she finds a bruised, deaf boy hiding inside one of the rooms, she vows to lead him to safety . . . only to discover the front doors are now padlocked, and her friends are nowhere to be found. Kaylee is about to learn that not everything that goes “bump in the night” is imaginary, and sometimes there are worse things to fear than ghosts.

Have you ever read a book that is so creepy and unsettling that it stays with you afterward? A book that invades your dreams and gives you nightmares?

Well, this is that book.

It starts innocently. A sleepover at a new friend’s house. It turns sinister when the new friend throws a scavenger hunt in the nursing home.

The doors to the nursing home are mysteriously padlocked. Locking Kaylee, Sid, Anna, and Wren inside with an elderly man who is insane. When Kaylee found a 5-year-old abused deaf boy in a closet, my pulse level went through the roof!!!

I could not put this book down and read it in one sitting. Like I said above, it gets under your skin, and you wonder what will happen to the girls and the boy at the end.

Speaking of the end, I enjoyed it. Kaylee did the right thing. I

I would recommend Resthaven to anyone over 16. There is mild violence, mild language, and no sexual situations.

If you enjoyed reading Resthaven, you will enjoy reading these books

The Last Time She Saw Him (Julia Gooden Mystery: Book 1) by Jane Haseldine

The Last Time She Saw Him (A Julia Gooden Mystery Book 1) by [Haseldine, Jane]

Publisher: Kensington

Date of Publication: June 28, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Psychological Thriller, Adult Fiction, Contemporary,

Series: Julia Gooden Mystery

The Last Time She Saw Him—Book 1

Duplicity—Book 2 (review here)

Worth Killing For—Book 3

You Fit the Pattern—Book 4

Goodreads Synopsis:

In Jane Haseldine’s gripping and brilliantly crafted debut, a reporter searching for her kidnapped son must untangle the connection to her brother’s long-ago disappearance.

Julia Gooden remembers nothing about the worst night of her life. Thirty years ago, her nine-year-old brother Ben—the person who promised he would always protect her—was abducted from the room they shared. Try as she might to recall any clue or detail, there is a black hole where Julia’s memories of that terrible event should be.

Now a crime reporter at a Detroit newspaper, Julia tries to give others the closure she’s never found. But guilt and grief over Ben’s disappearance have left her fearful that whoever took her brother is going to come back. Nowhere seems safe—not the city, not the suburbs, not even the secluded lake town where she plans to raise her children. And then, on the anniversary of Ben’s disappearance, Julia’s worst fears are realized when her two-year-old son, Will, is snatched from his bed.

Convinced that the crimes are related, Julia tries to piece together memories from her final day with Ben. Are the sudden reminders of her brother clues that will lead her to her son’s abductor, or merely coincidence? Julia knows she has hours at best to find Will alive, but the deeper she digs, the more personal and terrifying the battle becomes, and an undying promise may be her only hope of saving herself and her son.

My review:

If you are looking for a book that showcases the best and worst of people and has a dash of the supernatural in it, read this book.

Julia was not a character that was likable, and I love that the author wrote her that way. She suffers survivor’s guilt after her older brother was kidnapped out of their room when she was 7. That one event shaped her entire life. Julia tortures herself over his disappearance. This has affected all areas of her life, from her job and marriage to how she parents her children.

The story got going when her 2-year-old was kidnapped out of his room. The author did a great job writing that part of the book too. She captured Julia’s terror and her fight to get her child away from the kidnappers.

The book then became a mishmash of the present and past. It was discovered that the same Indian head arrow was left under Will’s crib. Which was a connection to her brother’s disappearance.

But all is not what it seems. Clues were given by a pedophile pastor. A police detective was halfway in love with her. I didn’t know what direction the book was going in. And that was the best thing about it!!!

I didn’t know who the kidnappers were until the very end of the book. The author did a fantastic job of keeping that hidden. She threw out red herrings and created a couple of false leads that, when it was revealed, I went, “Whaaaat??“

I would recommend The Last Time She Saw Him to anyone over 21. There is violence, language, and no sex. There are also graphic descriptions of sexually abused children.

If you enjoyed reading The Last Time She Saw Him; you will enjoy reading these books:

Need To Find You by Joseph Souza

Publisher: Kindle Press

Date of publication: March 15, 2016

Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Mystery, Crime

Purchase Links: Amazon | Alibris | IndieBound | BetterWorldBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

Yasmine ‘Yaz’ Weeks would prefer to forget her troubled past and the vile crimes committed against her, but when she discovers a hidden memoir in a kidnapped girl’s cell phone, Yaz finds herself on the run with an opportunity for retribution. She soon learns that the memoir has the potential to ruin both the reputation of its late great author, Robert Cornish, as well as the reputations of many influential people.
Whip Billings, an ex-cop, unwittingly becomes entangled in the mystery of the missing phone. Realizing that this newfound memoir could significantly hurt the sales of Cornish’s classic novel, Force of Will, he begins to search for Yaz. But why are the cops, and a mysterious drug kingpin known only as The Viking, also looking for her?
In his quest to find Yaz, Whip uncovers a vast network of political corruption, long hidden family secrets, and a series of reprehensible crimes. As the bodies in town begin to pile up, Whip knows that he must track down Yaz before she also turns up dead.

I liked this book. From the beginning, when I met Yaz to the end, it was a rollercoaster ride of thrills. I didn’t know what I would get from one chapter to another. I liked that the author didn’t hide who the bad guys were. He did skirt the line on what characters were defined as bad or corrupt. He made me think about what I would do in certain situations and how I would have reacted. Would I have acted the same as these characters did? Would I make that choice that could send me down the wrong/right path? Very thought-provoking because of all the gray areas that were brought up in the book.

I liked Yaz’s character. She was badass (I mean, she’s a drummer in a band called The Kuntz”), but at the same time, she had a soft spot. She worked in a shelter for homeless teens. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time to get Mikiela’s cell phone. The flashbacks we get from her childhood are awful.

I liked Whip’s character, but I didn’t feel bad for him at all. I did at the beginning, I mean, he was attending a funeral for his mother, but after that, all sympathy went poof. He is an alcoholic. He had 1 year sober when he threw it all away to meet with an old contact to help locate his missing stepdaughter.

The other substories were blended beautifully into the book. Each ended towards the end of the book, and they were merged beautifully with the substory.

I loved the ending; finding out who The Viking was and what drove him to commit his crimes was great. I was very surprised to find out who he was, to be honest, but looking back, it made sense and fit perfectly into the story.

3 Things I liked about Need To Find You:

Yaz
Whip
Storyline

3 Things I disliked about Need To Find You:

Krell
The Viking
Haskins

I would recommend Need To Find You to anyone over 21. There is extreme violence, sexual situations, drug use, child abuse, and language.

If you enjoyed reading Need to Find You, you will enjoy reading these books:

Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Expected date of publication: October 4th, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Young Adult, LGBTQIA, Contemporary, Thriller

Goodreads Synopsis:

Flynn’s girlfriend, January, is missing. All eyes are on Flynn—he must know something. After all, he was—is—her boyfriend. They were together the night before she disappeared.

But Flynn has a secret of his own. As he struggles to uncover the truth about January’s disappearance, he must also face the truth about himself.

All I have to say about this book is (and I am stealing this from the great George Takei)… “Oh, My.” I read this book within 1 day. From the first chapter, where I met Flynn and January, it gets its hooks into me and doesn’t let go. I stayed up late to finish this book and never did that.

I was irritated with Flynn during the first half of the book. He wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the police about January’s state of mind the last time he saw her. But he started to grow on me by the 3rd chapter. By the middle of the book, I was gasping in surprise over what was being revealed about him and January.

While we were on the subject of January, I felt bad for her and then irritated with her. She lived in a dysfunctional household. Her mother, who used to be her best friend, is no longer emotionally available. Her stepfather is concerned with how her disappearance will look on his campaign run. And her stepbrother gave me the creeps in his scenes. No wonder she lied about everything to everyone, including Flynn.

I thought I had this book figured out, and then a huge twist came up and stirred everything up. Settled back down, I was hit with another twist, just as big. I didn’t see either of these coming, and they both took the breath out of me (love it when a book does that).

3 Things I liked about Last Seen Leaving:

Plot
Flynn
The plot twists

3 Things I disliked about Last Seen Leaving:

The cops
January (see above)
January’s family

I would recommend Last Seen Leaving to anyone over 16. There are mild sexual situations, strong language, and mild violence.

If you enjoyed reading Last Seen Leaving, you will enjoy reading these books:

New Dawn by Andrew J. Morgan

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Date published: February 16, 2016

Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery

Goodreads Synopsis:

When you’re 200 trillion miles from home . . .
With mankind on the brink of economic collapse, a population growing at an unmanageable rate and a limited supply of natural resources, there is only one place we can look to for our future . . . the stars. A deep space mining tug is sent to a planet codenamed New Dawn to begin a mission to relocate humanity.

. . . the only person you can trust . . . is you
The mission falls into chaos when a crewmember dies unexpectedly. Geologist Jake Brooks must keep his wits about him to uncover what really happened—but are the confines of the ship clouding his judgment? Is there really a sinister motive behind the death—and the mission—or is he letting his mind get the better of him? What really awaits him on New Dawn? He must push on to reveal the truth, no matter who or what stands in his way . . .

Please note: New Dawn is not a hard sci-fi novel.

Before I start my review, I will let you guys know that I am switching up my review style again. The list of 3 things I liked/disliked will be here, but I will write the review instead of putting up the 3 things. My style of reviewing is always evolving.

Now saying that, here is the review:

I loved the storyline. You have a crew on a deep space mining ship that will survey a planet that could be habitable and be a new Earth. Then the unthinkable happens, and a crew member is murdered. Who do you trust, and better yet, who do you believe?

I got into this book. You couldn’t help but like and sympathize with Jake when all hell breaks out on the ship after the first death. You are on this tiny vessel with crewmates; someone could be a killer. And the tension comes through the book when the body count goes up to 3. I did feel bad for Jake because the team was torn apart, and mentally, it was tough on him.

I wasn’t too keen on the almost-love story. To be honest, that part could have been left out. I could have done without reading about Jake’s attraction to a certain Dr.

The relationships between the different characters were tangible. You couldn’t help but root for them all (even the bad guys, as weird as that sounds).

The ending was great and on spot for this book. There was a twist that I kinda saw coming. Enough hints were dropped, but it took me by surprise.

3 Things I liked about New Dawn:

The storyline
Jake
The ending

3 Things that I disliked about New Dawn:

The almost love story between Jake and the ship’s Dr
Sadie’s death
Jason

I would recommend New Dawn to anyone over 16. There is no sex, minimal violence, and language.

If you enjoyed reading The New Dawn, you will enjoy reading these books:

Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu

Afterward: A Novel by [Mathieu, Jennifer]

Publisher: Roaring Book Press

Date of publication: September 20th, 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Realistic Fiction

Goodreads synopsis:

When Caroline’s little brother is kidnapped, his subsequent rescue leads to the discovery of Ethan, a teenager who has been living with the kidnapper since he was a young child himself. In the aftermath, Caroline can’t help but wonder what Ethan knows about everything that happened to her brother, who is not readjusting well to life at home. And although Ethan is desperate for a friend, he can’t see Caroline without experiencing a resurgence of traumatic memories. But after the media circus surrounding the kidnappings departs from their small Texas town, both Caroline and Ethan find that they need a friend–and their best option just might be each other.

3 Things I Liked About Afterward

The characters: Ethan, Caroline, and Dylan.
I loved all three of them, and my heart broke for each in different ways. They all respond to the trauma of the kidnapping differently, which felt incredibly real. We especially see Dylan’s experience through Caroline’s eyes, and that perspective made it hit even harder.

The storyline itself.
Be prepared for tears—starting on page one. This is not an easy book to read, but it pulls you in anyway. The author did an incredible job handling the story with care while still making it emotionally powerful.

The ending.
I won’t give anything away, but the ending couldn’t have been better. It was powerful and hopeful in a quiet, realistic way. It really shows how much healing can happen in the year following a traumatic event.

3 Things I Disliked About Afterward

Caroline’s parents.
Oh my lord. I couldn’t stand them. They blame Caroline for Dylan’s disappearance, completely miss the fact that she’s spiraling, and fail to get Dylan the help he needs after he’s found. I understand that the author intentionally wrote them as a contrast to Ethan’s parents, but they got under my skin in a big way.

Ethan’s flashbacks and anxiety attacks.
These were incredibly hard to read—not because they were poorly written, but because they were so accurate. I cried during his first flashback and ended up sobbing through several others. As someone with moderate anxiety, his panic attacks felt painfully honest. I actually had to pause and do breathing exercises because they started triggering my own anxiety.

When Ethan remembers his abuse.
This is never something you want to read about, but the author handled it with great care. It was alluded to rather than described graphically, which made it no less devastating—but very thoughtfully done.

The author also includes several vital resources in the author’s note, which I really appreciated, including organizations that support missing and exploited children, survivors of sexual assault, and families affected by trauma.

I would recommend Afterward to readers over 18 who are prepared for a deeply emotional, heavy—but ultimately meaningful—story.

Deception Island (The Legionnaires: Book 1) by Brynn Kelly

Publisher: HQN Books

Date of publication: May 31st, 2016

Genre: Romance, Suspense, Thriller, Mystery

Series: The Legionnaires

Deception Island—Book 1

Edge of Truth—Book 2

Forbidden River—Book 2.5

A Risk Worth Taking—Book 3

Goodreads Synopsis:

A stolen boy

A haunted soldier

A cornered con woman…

Rafe Angelito thought he was done with the demons from his past—until his son is kidnapped. Blackmailed into abducting an American heiress, the legionnaire soon finds himself trapped in paradise with a fiery, daring beauty who’s nothing he expects…and everything he desires. But when he uncovers her own dark secret, Rafe realizes he’s made a critical mistake—one that could cost him everything.

Playing body double for a spoiled socialite was supposed to be Holly Ryan’s ticket to freedom. But when she’s snatched off her yacht by a tall, dark and dangerous stranger, the not-quite-reformed con artist will make a desperate play to turn her captor from enemy to ally, by any means necessary.

Yet as scorching days melt into sultry nights, Holly is drawn to the mysterious capitaine, with his unexpected sense of honor and his searing touch. When they’re double-crossed, they’ll have to risk trusting each other in ways they never imagined…because in this deadly game of deception, it’s their lives—and hearts—on the line.

Oh my lord, this book was good. Everything about it felt like gold. From Rafe’s background as a child soldier, to Holly’s time in prison, to the circumstances that led to Rafe kidnapping her—I was completely hooked. I finished this book in one sitting because I genuinely could not stop reading.

Going into a Harlequin novel, I usually expect a pretty specific formula: an overconfident hero, a heroine who can’t see past her own issues, lukewarm sex scenes, and a plot that doesn’t dig too deep. That was not the case here. The twists and turns kept me guessing, the story never settled into something predictable, and the sex scenes were HOT, HOT, HOT—without ever taking away from the plot.

At its core, this story pulls you in emotionally. If you’re a parent, you already know—you’d do anything to get your child back. That’s exactly what Rafe does after discovering his son has been kidnapped by someone from his past. As more of his history is revealed, it’s impossible not to feel for him. His story is heartbreaking.

Holly’s story is just as tragic, though it unfolds more slowly. At first, all we know is that she’s an ex-con who’s been approached by a U.S. senator to impersonate his daughter on a sailing trip around the world. What the author reveals along the way explains so much about who Holly is and why—and it’s devastating in the best, most emotionally effective way.

I also appreciated the inclusion of child soldiers and human sex trafficking as subplots. Both are deeply disturbing realities, and the author handles them in a way that adds weight to the story without feeling exploitative. There are links at the end of the book for readers who want to learn more or help make a difference.

And then there’s the twist. A huge one. The kind that makes you put the book down and just say, “Whoa.” There wasn’t even a hint—it completely blindsided me, in the best way.

The ending was perfect. Honestly, if it had ended any other way, I would’ve been disappointed.

In The Clearing (Tracy Crosswhite: Book 3) by Robert Dugoni

In the Clearing (Tracy Crosswhite Book 3) by [Dugoni, Robert]

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Date of publication: May 17th, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Suspense, Contemporary, Detective, Adult

Series: Tracy Crosswhite Series

The Academy—Book 0.25

Third Watch—Book 0.5

My Sister’s Grave—Book 1

Her Final Breath—Book 2

In the Clearing—Book 3

The Trapped Girl—Book 4

Close to Home—Book 5

A Steep Price—Book 6

A Cold Trail—Book 7

In Her Tracks—Book 8

The Last Line—Book 8.5

What She Found—Book 9

Purchase Links: Amazon |Audible

Goodreads synopsis:

Detective Tracy Crosswhite has a skill, and a soft spot, for tackling unsolved crimes. Having lost her own sister to murder at a young age, Tracy has dedicated her career to bringing justice and closure to the families and friends of victims of crime.

So when Jenny, a former police academy classmate, and protégé, asks Tracy to help solve a cold case that involves the suspicious suicide of a Native American high school girl forty years earlier, Tracy agrees. Following up on evidence Jenny’s detective father collected when he was the investigating deputy, Tracy probes one small town’s memory and finds dark, well-concealed secrets hidden within the community’s fabric. Can Tracy uphold the promise she’s made to the dead girl’s family and deliver the truth of what happened to their daughter? Or will she become the next victim?

Want a book you can devour in one sitting? Then read In the Clearing. I was completely glued to this one and couldn’t put it down.

The main storyline and the subplot were both fantastic. The author does a great job of alternating between the cold case and the one Tracy is currently working on, seamlessly moving between past and present—and even between different perspectives. That’s something I usually struggle with in books like this, but here it absolutely worked. The way both cases come together in the end is chilling. I actually got goosebumps.

I did figure out who killed Kimi about halfway through the book—but not because it was obvious in a bad way. There were plenty of red herrings and apparent dead ends, so when everything was revealed, I was still shocked. And there’s a major twist I did not see coming.

What surprised me most is that even though this is part of a series, it works perfectly as a standalone. I usually avoid reading books out of order because characters and plots tend to bleed together. Not here. What happens in previous books stays in previous books.

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3 Things I Liked About Afterward

3 Things I Disliked About Afterward

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