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    A Death on W Street by Andy Kroll

    As Washington, D. C. Bureau Chief for Rolling Stone, Andy Kroll is well situated to report on the pervasive craziness that seems to have taken over since 2016. Seth Rich’s name has become synonymous with conspiracy, and his rumored influence among Democratic Party operatives as a tech wizard who just may have been involved in …

    Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

    Five years ago, I was a huge fan of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere, and I was happy to receive a copy of Our Missing Hearts from Penguin Group/Press and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.  It is one of my less-favorite genres, a dystopian novel… set in a time following a period of …

    Suspect by Scott Turow

    I’ve been a big fan of Scott Turow since I read Presumed Innocent back in the 1980s when I was working in a public library. His stories are generally set in “Kindle County,” and familiar characters recur throughout the books. This time, the PI is Pinky, granddaughter of renowned attorney Sandy Stern. Pinky spent many …

    The Prisoner by B.A. Paris

    I am a big fan of  “unputdownable psychological thrillers,” and a huge fan of B.A. Paris’s Behind Closed Doors (2016),   Bring Me Back (2018),  The Dilemma (2020), and last year’s The Therapist, I was happy to receive a copy of The Prisoner from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in return for my honest review. …

    The Rising Tide by Anne Cleeves (Vera #10)

    Last year, I had the joy of discovering a new favorite author…As an avid mystery fan, I’m not sure why I had never read anything by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera series (neither of which I ever got into). But  then I received a review copy of her 2021 book The Heron’s …

    Racing The Light by Robert Crais (Elvis Cole #19)

    As I have stated before, I have been a diehard fan of Robert Crais/Elvis Cole/Joe Pike for over THIRTY YEARS. Seriously, when The Monkey’s Raincoat was published in 1987, I was working in a public library, grabbed it as soon as it came in, and was HOOKED. Since then, this has been one of the …

    Bad City (Chapter Sampler) by Paul Pringle

    Thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley, I received a copy of the Chapter Summary of Bad City, by Los Angeles Times Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Paul Pringle. Subtitled “Peril And Power In The City of Angels,” this nonfiction true crime thriller is a stunning expose of corruption in both city governments and academic institutions, featuring …

    The Zero Night by Brian Freeman

    In 2018, when I started reading Brian Freeman’s Alter Ego, (#9 In the Jonathan Stride series), I kept thinking “wait, I KNOW this Jonathan Stride, a cop from Duluth, I recognize his house…” But then I thought maybe I was getting him mixed up with a character in John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport/Virgil Flowers series – …

    Back To The Garden by Laurie R. King

    One of our local treasures in my hometown is author Laurie King. Her best-known books are part of a series, but the latest is a standalone – and it’s great fun!  The story in Back To The Garden is set in the Central Coast region of California, and skips back and forth from the present …

    Roll Red Roll by Nancy Schwartzman

    I somehow missed Nancy Schwartzman’s film Roll Red Roll back in 2018, which told the story of a notorious gang rape of a 16-year old girl after an early season football game in Steubenville, Ohio. The horrific events would perhaps (most likely, IMHO) never have come to light were it not for smart phones and …

    The Maze (John Corey #8) by Nelson deMille

    I’ve been reading Nelson deMille books for a long time – I first met Detective John Corey last century (!) when I read and enjoyed Plum Island (1997). And I have often enjoyed a bit of wisecracking from my protagonists (think RBP’s Spenser). I REALLY enjoyed Plum Island and Lion’s Game – and Nightfall? Wow, …

    Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor

    I’m a big fan of Jane Harper, so when I read that Hayley Scrivenor’s book Dirt Creek was available from Flatiron Books and NetGalley in return for my honest review, I was looking forward to it – a LOT. For some reason, it was originally publixhed in Australia as Dirt Town, but is renamed as …

    What She Found by Robert Dugoni

    I’ve been reading books in Robert Dugoni’s Tracy Crosswhite series since 2014, when I first stumbled across My Sister’s Grave. I found it fascinating over the years to watch as Detective Crosswhite evolved as she worked to solve the long-cold case of her sister Sarah’s murder, then went on to other cases, along the way …

    Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates

    I can’t recall the last book I read by Joyce Carol Oates, but in the interest of reading some well-written fiction, I was happy to receive a copy of her latest, Babysitter, in exchange for this review. (you know, like taking vitamins – it will be good for me to read something other than mystery/thrillers).  …

    Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie

    I’m a big fan of thrillers. I’ll Never Tell, and You Can’t Catch Me by Catherine McKenzie are in this vein, so when I had the chance to read her latest, Please Join Us (thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley) I was ready to read!  As the story begins, the protagonist Nicole Mueller appears to …

    They Want To Kill Americans by Malcolm Nance

    Malcolm Nance, known to watchers of MSNBC as a knowledgeable reporter with years of experience in counterintelligence, is willing to SHOW UP for what he believes. Want proof? He joined the Foreign Fighters in Ukraine after the country was invaded by Russia. His latest book, They Want to Kill Americans, quite frankly scared the %^$#* …

    Look Closer by David Ellis

    I love twisty psychological thrillers (think  Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl), so when I read that David Ellis’s latest, Look Closer, was “part Gone Girl, part Strangers On A Train, I was READY! Thank you to Penguin Group/G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for this honest review.  There is a wealthy …

    Helltown by Casey Sherman

    I admit it. I’m a sucker for true crime stories, and serial killers are part of that. I’d never heard of Tony Costa, but after reading a bit about Helltown, subtitle the untold story of a serial killer of Cape Cod, I was ready to read. Fortunately, Sourcebooks and NetGalley were willing to provide a …

    Cold, Cold Bones by Kathy Reichs

    I haven’t read ALL of the 21 books in Kathy Reichs’s series featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance (“Tempe” Brennan, but I have most, and always enjoyed them. So I was happy to receive a copy of Cold, Cold Bones from Scribner and NetGalley. Tempe divides her time between North Carolina and Canada, and in this one, …

    Movieland by Lee Goldberg

    I tend to enjoy stories where the setting is a character on its own, if you know what I mean (think Jane Harper’s novels set in arid Western Australia. Oh, and BTW, if you enjoy mysteries, you really should check her out — start with The Dry). In Lee Goldberg’s Movieland, while Malibu Creek State …