At Risk by S.G. Redling

At Risk by [Redling, S.G.]

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Date of publication: September 20th, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis:

Colleen McElroy grew up wealthy and pampered, the daughter of a prominent society family in Lexington, Kentucky. But her privileged upbringing could not prepare or protect her from her cruel and abusive first husband. Although her calamitous marriage left her with physical and emotional scars that have yet to heal, they haven’t prevented her from doing her best to rebuild her life.

Charismatic Patrick McElroy has scars of his own from his traumatic childhood in the foster care system, but with his business partner, John, he has built a celebrated, state-of-the-art home for at-risk youths. When one goes missing, Colleen is plunged into a nightmare of uncertainty about the girl’s disappearance. Is she paranoid, seeing disasters where there is just bad luck, or does an unspeakable evil lurk behind the new life she’s made for herself? No longer sure of whom she can trust, Colleen will have to rely on herself to discover the truth.

My review:

This book was fantastic!! Mysteries are usually not my cup of tea; I can generally figure out who the murder was by the middle of the book and then get bored reading. But not this book. The bad guys are clearly stated from the get-go. One emerges at in the middle of the book, and the last couple of bad guys appear at the end of the book.

It is the build-up that got me going. The book starts slow and picks up steam as I get deeper and deeper into the book. By the end, its full throttle to the climax of the book. I rarely read a book that can keep that momentum going. So bravo to the author!!!

The beginning of the story was great. It starts with Patrick, Colleen, Bix, and John at a fundraiser for Patrick and John’s project, a state of the art home for at-risk youth. I got a sense of the strange dynamics among the foursome. Colleen is newly married to Patrick and considers herself an outsider to the trio. Patrick and John met when they were children at a group home, and then they met Bix when they were teenagers in another group home.

Colleen notices that something is off with Patrick. He is being secretive and he keeps telling her that he doesn’t want her involved with what he was doing. Big red flag there. One day, Bix approaches Colleen with a phone that she cloned from John and someone texts a list of names. Colleen agrees to play detective and stumbles into something that goes beyond a cheating husband.

As for the characters, I did like Colleen the most. She started as a timid mouse of a woman, still getting over her ex-husband’s abusive ways. By the end of the book, she blossomed into this woman who wasn’t going to take crap from anyone.

I didn’t understand her friendship with Bix. It was a love/hate relationship between them, with the hate being on Bix’s part. If someone ever talked to me the way Bix talked to Colleen, I would have laid them out flat. She was an abrasive, unlikable character.

I didn’t like John either. He came across as slimy, secretive and was always drunk. He rubbed me the wrong way from the first time he appeared in the book.

Patrick was OK. He seemed to be easily influenced/pushed around by Bix and John. He keeps dismissing their behavior and the way Bix treats Colleen as leftover mannerisms from when they were in foster care.

The ending was explosive and it showcased how strong Colleen was. It showed that you never truly know a person, no matter how close you are to them.

How many stars will I give At Risk? 5

Why? This is a true mystery that keeps you guessing until the end of the book.

Will I reread? Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes

Age range? Adult

Why? No sex but there is mention of a forced sexual situation. Also a ton of violence and language.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

The Girl from the Sea by Shalini Boland

The Girl From The Sea: A gripping psychological thriller with a heart-pounding twist by [Boland, Shalini]

Publisher: Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Member’s Titles

Date of publication: June 9th, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis:

‘I can’t remember anything. Not even my own name.’

When Mia James is washed up on a beautiful, sun-drenched beach she has no idea who she is or what happened to her. She doesn’t even recognise her own face – until a man comes forward claiming to be her boyfriend and providing her with an identity.

As Mia tries to adjust to the perfect life she was living before her accident, she quickly realises that something is wrong. Why is everyone around her lying to her? What don’t they want her to remember?

My review:

Mia is found half-drowned on the beach by a good Samaritan. When she is at the hospital, she finds out that she has retrograde amnesia. After the police put her face on the news with a “Do you know this woman,” her boyfriend shows up to identify her. She is released into his custody.

This is where the book gets excellent. Mia starts remembering bits and pieces of what happened to her. She is seeing the specter of an angry, blonde woman and thinks that she is hallucinating. As she regains her memories, she realizes that not everything is what it seems.

I don’t like stories about amnesia, but this one had me hooked. The mystery behind the accident was written so skillfully that I had no clue what happened until the end.

Mia didn’t click with me. I don’t know why there was such a disconnect, but there was.

Let’s speak about the end, but I won’t be ruining anything for anyone. It had to have been the best ending in a mystery that I have EVER read. There are two twists that were huge. The final pages of the book, let’s say, stalker.

How many stars will I give The Girl From the Sea? 4

Will I reread? Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes

Age range: Adult

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**

Mosh Pit (The Rose Garden Arena Incident: Book 1) by Michael Hiebert

Mosh Pit (The Rose Garden Arena Incident Book 1) by [Hiebert, Michael]

Publisher: Dangerbooks

Date of publication: September 18th, 2016

Series: The Rose Garden Arena Incident

Mosh Pit – Book 1

Media Frenzy – Book 2 (review here)

80 Proof – Book 3

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis:

Stephanie Banner is twenty years old the night Dakota Shane stands center stage while six bullets ring out through the stadium. Five deaths occur from those shots, although only four ever go on record.

All four are women.

It happens in Portland, Oregon, at the Rose Garden Arena. The show is a sellout. Twenty-two thousand seats gone in less than four hours.

For the eight days leading up to the concert, a handful of disparate lives intertwine as their world unravels. Their sanity, their relationships, their work, their children, the law, and even death hangs in the balance. Among them are: the learning-disabled black kid from East St. Louis trying to move past having his little sister die in his arms when she and his Momma become collateral damage during a drive-by; the quick-witted black man who, after losing control of his car on his way to visit family in Portland, finds himself duct-taped to a chair, a hostage to a meth-addled lunatic wanted for a double homicide; the Latino son now desperately struggling to rise above his abusive father and help his mother and sister move on to a better life, while unable to let go of the tremendous guilt he bears over the fate of the other sister he once had; the slash-punk singer who manages to score her band the best gig of its career, only to learn she may not have a band left to play it; the Korean psychiatrist finally confronting how much of her life has slipped by her—how many years she lost—while focussing on far less important things; the ex-LAPD detective now working for the Portland PD finally facing the ghosts that still linger from the time of the Rodney King riots—a past that forced him to drag his family up out of LA; the bitter ex-wife of a disc jockey who still secretly listens to her ex-husband’s midnight radio show as she drinks herself into a whiskey coma; the out of control daughter having unprotected sex with strangers hoping that pregnancy might draw the attention of parents unable to see past themselves…

And then, Dakota Shane: chart-topping superstar with a dark secret, caught in a media and tabloid frenzy full of rumor, speculation, and lies. She’s off her meds and grappling to find any semblance of herself that might still exist inside an identity forged over the past five years by an extremely successful record company’s marketing department.

Each of these lives is a story and the stories collide with each other like silver balls bouncing off bumpers on a pinball machine.
But in the end, The Rose Garden Arena Incident is a tale about passion, about bravery, about redemption, about fixing those things in the world that are fixable and learning to live with the things that are not—A heartbreaking story of tragedy, despair, and loss that still somehow leaves you with a glimmer of faith, love, and hope.

The Rose Garden Arena Incident is a “serial thriller.” The story takes place over seven separate books, each encompassi

My review:

I don’t like serial novels. I don’t have the patience to wait for each installment to come out. I might make the exception for The Rose Garden Arena Incident.

This book is fantastic!! It starts on the day of the shooting and goes back eight days. Which in itself isn’t new to me but how the author did it is. I met 4 of the main characters in that brief chapter. Then he backed it up to 8 days ago. Each book is a day in the life of all of the characters.

This first book lays the groundwork for the rest of the book. I met Brenda, Stephanie, Karma, among other people and got to see what they did on that day, eight days before the incident.

The ending of the book left it open for book 2, and there are so many questions I have, but I will not put here. Hopefully, they will be answered in book 2!!

How many stars will I give Mosh Pit? 5

Why? This was a great starter book for this series. Well written with characters that are believable, you get hooked and wonder what is going to happen in the next book.

Will I reread? Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes

Age range? Adult

Why? Sexual situations, underage drinking, and language.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book

And the Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich

And the Trees Crept In by [Kurtagich, Dawn]

Publisher: Little, Brown Book for Young Readers

Date of publication: September 6th, 2016

Genre: Horror, Young Adult, Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal, Fiction, Thriller, Supernatural, Suspense

Goodreads Synopsis:

Stay away from the woods…

When Silla and Nori arrive at their aunt’s home, it’s immediately clear that the manor is cursed. The endless creaking of the house at night and the eerie stillness of the woods surrounding them would be enough of a sign, but there are secrets too—questions that Silla can’t ignore: Why does it seem that, ever since they arrived, the trees have been creeping closer? Who is the beautiful boy who’s appeared from the woods? And who is the tall man with no eyes who Nori plays with in the basement at night… a man no one else can see?

I stayed up until 1 am to finish reading this book. I had to finish this book because it had such a grip on me. It scared me to death and fascinated me at the same time. It was good when I can’t sleep after finishing a book because it creeped me out.

This book is written in such a different fashion it is hard to explain. In one chapter, you are reading in 1st person, and then you could be reading in 3rd person. I don’t like it when the book jumps around like that, but it worked in this case. There were also excerpts from Silla’s diary that were creepy. I got the chills from reading it.

This book also fucks with your mind. I won’t go into it, but, baby, things are not what they seem in this book!!!

Like I said above, this book is a mind fuck. The huge twist at the end threw me for a loop. I didn’t even see it coming. Not a hint, nothing.

I would recommend And the Trees Crept In to anyone over 21. It is a clean book with no violence and mild language.

If you enjoyed And the Trees Crept In, you will enjoy these books:

The Last Pilgrim (Tommy Bergmann: Book 1) by Gard Sveen

The Last Pilgrim (Tommy Bergmann Book 1) by [Sveen, Gard]

Publisher: AmazonCrossing

Date of publication: August 23rd, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, War, European Literature, Scandinavian Literature, Spy Thriller, Espionage, Adult Fiction

Series: Tommy Bergmann

The Last Pilgrim – Book 1

Hell Is Open—Book 2

Blod i dans—Book 3

Bjornen—Book 4

Drommenes gud—Book 5

Goodreads Synopsis:

Young, lovely Norwegian Agnes Gerner is waging a dangerous and secret fight. Outwardly, she is a devoted Nazi sympathizer engaged to a prominent businessman. In fact, she is part of an underground resistance doing everything to win the war against the Germans. The only hope she has of being reunited with the man she truly loves—who serves under the code name “Pilgrim”—is if the Nazis are defeated. Of course, there’s no guarantee that she’ll be alive when that happens…

Many years later, three sets of remains are found in a popular Oslo forest—two adults and a child. Despite his boss’s call to not spend extra time on the old case, Detective Tommy Bergmann cannot help but dig deeper, especially as he uncovers connections to a more recent murder. As he unravels the secrets of the past, it becomes clear that everything is permissible in war—and that only those who reject love can come out victorious.

My review:

I wouldn’t say I liked this book when I first started reading it. I had a lot of problems keeping my attention focused on it. Once I got past the first few chapters, I started to like the book.

I didn’t expect that I would like Tommy Bergmann by the end of the book. In the beginning, I detested him. He admitted that he beat his girlfriend over their 12-year relationship. He did have an awesome work ethic, and his remorse for his past behavior came across the pages. Even though he is a fictional character, I wanted to slip him a card to a psychologist. When he had a chance with another woman, he called it off because of his issues with his ex-girlfriend.

Agnes annoyed the ever-living out of me. I can’t put a finger on it, but I read her chapters with a bad taste in my mouth. I did find it fascinating how female spies were regarded during World War 2. Agnes proved them wrong. Her scenes with The Pilgrim also didn’t ring true to me. I figured out that he wanted a piece of ass and a place to crash, and she fell in love with him.

I liked the dual storylines. The author kept them apart and devoted entire chapters to Tommy and Agnes. I got confused was the beginning of the book when Kaj and the detective were killed. I got confused in the 2003 chapters when Tommy came to the crime scene. And then when he was called the woods when they found the bones.

The author did a great job keeping the killers under wraps until the end. He took me on a multi-country jaunt to find out how those two cases were connected. I did figure out the 1942 storyline about halfway through the book. But the 2003 storyline (and how they connected) did take me by surprise, and I was a little shocked by the ending.

I would recommend The Last Pilgrim to anyone over 21. There is sex and lots of violence.

If you liked The Last Pilgrim, you will enjoy these books:

Skin Trade (Jake Brogan Series: Book 2) by Michael K. Murphy

Publisher: Michael K. Murphy

Date of publication: July 20th, 2016

Series: Jake Brogan

Deadbeat – Book 1 (review here)

Skin Trade – Book 2

Purchase Links: Amazon

Goodreads Synopsis:

Jake Brogan, retired U. S. Army Special Forces, is hunting for his daughter’s killer. But in the course of his search, he stumbles upon a mother whose daughter has been kidnapped by a ring of human traffickers, and their tentacles reach all the way to Washington, D. C. Jake agrees to detour from his search in order to help recover the missing girl. They don’t know it yet, but the traffickers have just messed with the wrong person.

Back in February, I reviewed Deadbeat and loved it. When I got contacted by the author to review Skintrade, I was excited about reading it.

I wasn’t disappointed.

Jake was his usual badass self and was continuing his search for Donnie. While he was in Nashville, he meets Heather. He finds out that her daughter was kidnapped by human traffickers. Jake decides to look for Kelsey after hearing that the local cops aren’t squatting about it. That sets in motion a series of events proving his badass.

I have a bit of a book crush on Jake. This guy is unflippingbelievable, and in my eyes, he walks on water. He is the total package for a book crush. Who else can walk away from being captured by mercenaries and turn it around on them? Jake can!!!

There was very little of Randy in the book, but that’s OK. I dealt with it. I did get to meet Grey and Russ (hopefully, there will be more Randy in his next book!!!).

The ending of the book was perfect. I must say that everyone got what was coming to them. EVERYONE got what they deserved.

I would recommend Skin Trade to anyone over 21. There are sexual situations and violence.

Rage (Teodor Szacki: Book 3) by Zygmunt Miloszewski

Publisher: AmazonCrossing

Date of publication: August 1st, 2016

Genre: Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Polish Literature, Thriller, Poland, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Contemporary, Suspense

Series: Teodor Szacki

Entanglement – Book 1

A Grain of Truth – Book 2

Rage – Book 3

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Bestselling Polish crime by award-winning author Zygmunt Miloszewski.

All eyes are on famous prosecutor Teodor Szacki when he investigates a skeleton discovered at a construction site in the idyllic Polish city of Olsztyn. Old bones come as no shock to anyone in this part of Poland, but it turns out these remains are fresh, the flesh chemically removed.

Szacki questions the dead man’s wife, only to be left with a suspicion she’s hiding something. Then another victim surfaces—a violent husband, alive but maimed—giving rise to a theory: someone’s targeting domestic abusers. And as new clues bring the murderer closer to those Szacki holds dear, he begins to understand the terrible rage that drives people to murder.

From acclaimed Polish crime writer Zygmunt Miloszewski comes a gritty, atmospheric page-turner that poses the question, what drives a sane man to kill?

What drives a sane person to kill? That question could be answered by looking at today’s headlines. “She cut me off,” “He cheated on me,” and “She grabbed the last pair of socks in the discount bin” as a few examples. I mean, we have all heard them. What the author did is backtrack from the murder and examined the circumstances.

This is the 3rd book in a series, so it could be a standalone book. There were a few references to past books, but other than that, this book was its own animal.

I was not too fond of Helena’s (Hela’s) or Teodor’s characters. Hela came across as a spoiled brat, and Teodor came across as a cold, unfeeling person. He had this edge when comforting people, which made me uncomfortable.

The plot was fantastic, and it was fast-paced. The two storylines meet up towards the end of the book. The way that the author did it was great!!! I couldn’t put my finger on the murderer/vigilante. It could have been anyone. The big twist at the end was a surprise.

I would recommend Rage to anyone over 21. There is explicit sex, instructions on how to kill someone with lye balls, a descriptive scene where a man is throat raped with a pole, and mild language.

If you enjoyed reading Rage, you will enjoy reading these books:

Brain Storm (Angela Richman, Death Investigator: Book 1) by Elaine Viets

Brain Storm (Angela Richman, Death Investigator Book 1) by [Viets, Elaine]

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Date of Publication: August 2nd, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime, Fiction, Medical, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

Series: Angela Richman, Death Investigator

Brain Storm — Book 1

Fire and Ashes—Book 2

Ice Blonde—Book 3

A Star Is Dead—Book 4

Death Grip—Book 5

Life Without Parole—Book 6

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks |

Goodreads Synopsis:

The ultrawealthy families of Chouteau Forest may look down on a woman like death investigator Angela Richman, but they also rely on her. When a horrific car crash kills a Forest teenager, Angela is among the first on the scene. Her investigation is hardly underway, however, when she suffers a series of crippling strokes. Misdiagnosed by the resident neurologist, Dr. Gravois, and mended by gauche yet brilliant neurosurgeon Dr. Jeb Travis Tritt, Angela faces a harrowing recovery.

It’s a drug-addled, hallucinating Angela who learns that Dr. Gravois has been murdered…and the chief suspect is the surgeon who saved her life. Angela doesn’t believe it, but can she trust her instincts? Her brain trauma brings doubts that she’ll ever recover her investigative skills. But she’s determined to save Dr. Tritt from a death-row sentence—even if her progress is thwarted at every turn by a powerful and insular community poised to protect its own.

Before reading Brain Storm, I had never been disappointed in a book. I had such high hopes for it by the Goodreads descriptions and all the 4 and 5-star reviews. I was like, “Yes, this is going to be awesome to read,” and it was for the first few chapters.

I enjoyed reading about Angela’s job, her community, and her friends. The author did a great job setting up her backstory. Then the misdiagnosis and stroke happened, and this is where the book took a nosedive. We got to read all about Angela’s recovery and her hallucinations. That wasn’t bad, but there was so much going on in the backstory!!!

Like the Angel of Death working at the hospital, the little boy dying because Dr. Gravois testified before the insurance company that he didn’t need treatment, and the romance between Monty and Kate. The focus, instead, was on Dr. Tritt and the accusations that he killed Dr. Gravois. Which was silly.

The ending was anticlimactic, and I didn’t have that “Aha” moment when the bad guy was caught. Because the said bad guy didn’t show up until 3 chapters before the end.

There were some redeeming qualities to this book. The author knew how to make a character come off the page, and she knew how to make you care about the main characters. Which is huge in a book.

I would recommend Brain Storm to anyone over 16. There is minimal violence, no sex, and a gruesome car accident description.

If you enjoyed reading Brain Storm, you will enjoy reading these books:

Death Unmasked by Rick Sulik

Publisher: Christopher Matthews Publishing

Date of Publication: December 1st, 2015

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Goodreads Synopsis:

A reincarnated evil is stalking the women of Houston. With each murder, the madman quotes an excerpt from the Oscar Wilde poem, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol.” A huge smokestack belching smoke, a ragged flea market double-breasted wool coat, and an old antique picture frame, bring the distant past back to haunt Houston Homicide Detective, Sean Jamison. With those catalysts, Jamison knows who he was in a past life and that he lost the only woman he could ever love. Searching for his reincarnated mate becomes Jamison’s raison d’être as he and fellow detectives scour Houston for a brutal serial killer. The memory of timeless love drives Jamison’s dogged search for a serial killer, determined to finish what he started decades earlier.
Each clue brings Jamison closer to unmasking his old nemesis. Tenacious police work, lessons learned in the past, and intuition may be the only weapons he has in preventing history from repeating itself.

I wasn’t sure what to think of this book in the first couple of chapters. The book was slow in the first couple of chapters. I struggled through those chapters because of the above issues. Get past those first few chapters; the book is a great read!!!

I enjoyed the storyline. A serial killer comes back. A cop remembers his past life, tries to find his lost love, and develops psychic premonitions. How all 3 are melded together makes a fascinating story. Throw in some very creepy stanzas from “The Ballad of Reading Gaol,” and the story becomes chilling.

From the minute I met Sean Jamison, the pace of the book picked up. When all his past lives return, he becomes obsessed with finding his long-lost soul mate. When he finds her, he is devastated that she doesn’t remember him or their lives together. But not is all that it seems, and there was a twist in that storyline that made me go, “Seriously.”

I wish that there were more scenes with the serial killer. He was a creeper, and I wish the author had spent more time in his brain. Once Darla was killed, the serial killer wasn’t in the story until the end.

The author shouldn’t have made Sean’s captain fall in love with him. Only Sean dropped that past-life tidbit on her in the office. It went from being cute and obsessive after finding his soul mate to creepy and gross.

The ending was great and, for the book, perfect. The author brought all the storylines together in a way that satisfied me. Nothing was left open-ended, which was great.

I would recommend Death Unmasked to anyone over 21. There is violence, rape, and murder.

If you enjoyed reading Death Unmasked, you will enjoy reading these books:

The Byzantine Connection (Stella Hunter Mystery Series: Peacetaker: Book 3) by Edita A. Petrick

Publisher: Edita A. Petrick

Date of Publication: January 27th, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Series: Stella Hunter Mystery Series: Peacetaker

Ribbons of Death—Book 1 (review here)

The Harmony Scroll—Book 2 (review here)

The Byzantine Connection—Book 3

Arachne’s Challenge—Book 4

Doomsday Hand—Book 5

Seals of Eternity—Book 6

Purchase Links: Amazon | Alibris | Powells

Goodreads Synopsis:

In St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, Detroit, Carter witnesses the miracle of youth returned, and stigmata where none should be. The bleeding statue is no miracle: it is the embodiment of an ancient curse that draws people in by granting their deepest wishes—but at the price of serving an evil force, ultimately paid for with their lives.
In a race against time to get to the bottom of the mystery, Carter and Stella have only the words of old friend and priest Father Malvan to guide them—yet he is long gone, turned monster then to dust.

This book takes place a year or so after The Harmony Scroll ends. I was delighted to find out that Carter and Stella are a couple. Stella has trouble coming to terms with their relationship during the book. Their interactions during this book cracked me up.

They are sent on a mystery after Stella’s friend contacts them about a mysterious statue. The events become a race against time to stop a powerful lawyer from fulfilling a prophecy.

The action was insane. Throw in the mythological element, which got my heart pounding at some points.

The ending was unexpected, and its twist threw me for a loop. I should have seen it coming; I should have but didn’t.

Would recommend The Byzantine Connection to anyone over 16. There is violence and language but no sex.

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