Ideas, Opinions, Genealogy, and Book Reviews
Broken Ground by Val McDermid is a great Scottish crime mystery. This book came out last year but my favorite librarian suggested it to me few months ago. This is a wonderful book and I completely enjoyed it .
Continue reading “Broken Ground by Val McDermid”
Race for the Flash Stone is the second of a series. I liked the first one Shadows of the Stone Benders much more than expected and reviewed it last year). It did not seem like the type of book I would enjoy. But the write-up I saw on Netgalley was interesting. So I thought I would give it a try.
For those who are not familiar with Netgalley, it is a website for those who like to read an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of books and are willing to share an opinion of the book. In my case, I write reviews.
Continue reading “Race for the Flash Stone by K. Patrick Donoghue”
I liked Shadows of the Stone Benders by K. Patrick Donoghue much more than expected. I occasionally enjoy science fiction and rarely like fantasy. Yet the write-up I saw on Netgalley was interesting.
The publisher compared it to the books of James Rollins and Steve Berry. I’ve never tried James Rollins but I have read and liked several books by Steve Berry. So I thought I would give it a try. Continue reading “Shadows of the Stone Benders”
The Lewis Man by Peter May is the second novel of The Lewis Trilogy. I had read the first after a friend had suggested I might enjoy it. I liked it very much as is apparent in my review of The Blackhouse.
In The Lewis Man several of the main characters are back but not necessarily in the way expected. Detective Fin Macleod is back. Detective Macleod grew-up on the remote Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. But in this story he is no longer with the police but has moved back to Lewis. Continue reading “The Lewis Man by Peter May”
The Blackhouse by Peter May. is the first novel of The Lewis Trilogy. The prologue sets the scene which will become important as the book progresses. Although chapter 1 gets off to a start in Edinburgh where Detective Fin Macleod is dealing with personal tragedy, much of the story takes place on the remote Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.
Continue reading “The Blackhouse by Peter May”
I like Jeffery Deaver’s books. I know I have read several and enjoyed them immensely, especially the Lincoln Rhyme novels. So when I saw an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver on Netgalley, I immediately requested it. I was reading another book at the time which I planned on finishing and had several others in line to be read but this one jumped to the front of the “to be read” line.
The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver is the latest Lincoln Rhyme novel. I had high expectations and this did not disappoint. Continue reading “The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver”
I enjoyed the first two of the Erica Donato Mysteries by Triss Stein. I think of it as the Brooklyn mystery series. When I saw on NetGalley that a third in this series was available for review, I immediately put in my request. Fortunately, the request was approved quickly. So thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press.
For those not familiar with the series, Erica is a Brooklyn girl. She was widowed young with a child to raise, went back to school, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in urban history. She lives a rather hectic life balancing the demands of graduate school and single motherhood. This is further complicated by her involvement in a mystery from time to time. Continue reading “Brooklyn Secrets, a Brooklyn mystery”
First my thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to download an advanced reader copy of “Crimson Shore” by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I have enjoyed some of Agent Pendergast books previously.
Most of the ones I’ve read have been very good. I see this is number 15 in the series and as I only have read a few earlier ones, I was eager to get re-acquainted. Continue reading “Crimson Shore by Preston & Child”
The Forgotten Room: A Novel by Lincoln Child was an enjoyable book.
The opening chapter got my attention. Then I thought the next part was just interesting enough to keep me turn pages. Since I read this on my Kindle Fire, I kept touching the screen to advance to the next page. This would be about 20% of the book or about 60 pages since the hardback is a bit over 300 pages. Continue reading “The Forgotten Room”
I think it appropriate to begin the review of a mystery with another mystery. Robert Goldsborough has done it again. Well, what has he done?
Robert Goldsborough is writing new Nero Wolfe mysteries in the style of the originals by Rex Stout. The two I have read before are very good . (See 2 Nero Wolfe Mysteries by Robert Goldsborough). I just finished another titled Archie in the Crosshairs and it was also quite good. Continue reading “Archie in the Crosshairs”
I was pleased when I saw a new book by Chris Culver on NetGalley. I had previously reviewed a book of his and liked it very much.
I applied for a review copy on my Kindle and was soon engrossed in Nine Years Gone. I was again impressed by Chris Culver’s skill in pulling me into the story. I was amazed by this ability when I read my first Chris Culver book. This time Continue reading “Nine Years Gone by Chris Culver”
I read a review of the latest addition to the Gaslight series (a mystery in old New York City). It was a favorable review but I have no idea where I saw it. The series involves several murder investigations in old New York City. Yes back in the 1890s when Teddy Roosevelt was a New York City Police Commissioner.
I like some historical fiction and a good mystery so I thought I would give it a try but Murder in Murray Hill which was the new one was 16th in the Gaslight series. So it seemed to me that it was better to start at the beginning.
I did a bit of looking around and learned Continue reading “Gaslight mystery in old New York City: Murder On Astor Place”
A total surprise. I was expecting a more or less usual crime novel when I downloaded By Any Means (from NetGalley) by a new (for me) author. Instead I was amazed by Chris Culver’s skill in sucking me into the story and then the life of his main character. I now know that By Any Means is Chris Culver’s third Ash Rashid novel. Continue reading “By Any Means by Chris Culver”
This is the second in a series. I liked the first and reviewed it about a year ago on this blog. I liked it so much I eagerly jumped at the chance to read and review an ARC of Brooklyn Graves: An Erica Donato Mystery by Triss Stein. Continue reading “Brooklyn Graves: An Erica Donato Mystery”
I have been a fan of Gabriel Cohen‘s writing for several years now. So when I received an email that his Jack Leightner crime novels have been published as ebooks by Open Road Media, I thought I should help spread the word. Continue reading “Gabriel Cohen mysteries published as ebooks”