Book Review: 29 Seconds by T.M. Logan

**I received a digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I read Lies, thanks to St. Martin's Press and was instantly hooked to this author. When I saw this story, I couldn't wait to read it.

And yes, it was still fantastic! The twists and turns. Just when you think you know what is going to happen, it shifts and all bets are off!

The main character is a woman, a hopeful college professor. She is trying to get a permanent contract, and she has a boss who is an awful, awful man!

I thought that was the way this was going, until she saw a little girl being kidnapped.

Wait, what??? What about that boss?

Seriously, a truly exciting story. Way to go, Mr. Logan!

Book Review: Lies by T M Logan

**Thanks to St. Martin's Press for an advanced readers copy!**

From start to finish, this book had me hooked! Constant thrills, and really it just kept moving so fast I just couldn't put it down. It broke through my reading lull.

And you kind of get an idea of what is going on. And you are like, "yeah, here's what is going to happen." And it was still good, but I thought I had it all figure out...nope...just nope.

An absolutely amazing thrill ride! Seriously, go buy a copy or go visit your library, but do yourself a favor and read this one.

Book Review: Birthday Girl by Matthew Iden

**I received a digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I have been following Matthew Iden since his Marty Singer series started. I honestly thought this was another one of those, and I was excited.

It's not.

This is a stand alone thriller. The story is told from 5 character perspectives.

Amy is searching for her daughter, now that the police have given up, she knows time is precious.

Elliot is a homeless man, who used to be a forensic psychologist. He lost his own daughter and it crippled his life. He hopes that by helping Amy, he can redeem himself.

Then you have Sister and Charlotte. Charlotte and the other children are afraid of Sister. But why?

And finally Detective Dave, he is the one who was on the case with Amy, and suggested she find Elliot.

This was such a wild ride! It honestly kept me guessing all the way through. Best book yet, by Matthew Iden.

Book Review: The Girl on the Train

by: Paula Hawkins

How did I not know this was a mystery/thriller??? I mean seriously...I was expecting a happy story. Then when I started to read and it wasn't happy, I figured, oh chick lit. She'll get her poop together and then we'll all be happy.

I'd classify this as a thriller.

Rachel rides the train into London every day. Not to work, but to hide that she no longer has a job. When she looks out where she used to live...she focuses on a few houses before her old place. In a way to avoid looking at her old life that she just can't seem to get over. She makes up this whole story of the couple that lives there. Then one day, she sees the woman she has named Jess with another man. Rachel is furious, how could Jess do that to her wonderful husband? When Jess ends up missing, Rachel feels it is her duty to come forward with what she knows.

The story also follows Meagan, the missing woman and Anna the new wife of Rachel's ex-husband. But I feel, after reading it all, that really Rachel is the key figure. Maybe I just like her the best - lol. Oh did I mention Rachel drinks way too much and Anna is about ready to get a restraining order on her? And yet, I still like her better...

This book just whipped by keeping me on the edge of my seat until the very end. In the beginning it's not real exciting, more of laying the groundwork for the true ride at the end. Like Gone Girl, this story just grabbed me and kept me guessing until the very end.

Book Review - Saint Odd

by: Dean Koontz

Uggg - that last Odd Thomas book! I was both excited by and dreading this book. I've loved all the Odd Thomas stories. Odd is a superhero, I don't care what he thinks. If nothing else, his unwavering ethics earn him that title. He must do the right thing, no matter the danger. He sees dead people, and occasionally helps them cross over, but that is not even the main thing he does.

Mainly, he fights evil. Serious, child sacrifice and mass murder kind of evil. He uses his gifts in this war. He finds allies as well. For all he's seen, he believes that people are generally good and must be protected from the growing evil in the world.

For his final battle, Odd returns to his home in Pico Mundo, New Mexico. He wants to see the people he cares about, but he also knows that something big and bad is going to happen and he has to try to stop it. It's a mystery. He doesn't know the what, the when, or the how. He barely understands the why. (Because evil, that's why!)

I enjoyed this as much as any of the others. You don't have to read them all, but you might not understand some of the people he is talking about that are from previous novels.

Book Review: The Wicked Flee

By: Matthew Iden

Good God I love this author! I put him right up there with Johnathan Kellerman, and better than Michael Connelly. This is the 5th Marty Singer novel. I've been reviewing these since the first. Marty is a tough, retired detective recovering from Cancer.

In this one, a current officer shows up late one night. His sister is missing, but being that she's a teenager he knows the police, even with his being one himself, won't do anything. She'd be considered a runaway. But Chuck knows something has happened.

What makes this especially exciting is that Chuck's sister, Lucy is incredibly bright. She has listened to all the tips her brother has given her, based on his own experience. He has told her what to do, and she keeps her head throughout the book. There's also another officer from another area working on an intersecting case. She's also quite bright and able to hold her own.

Marty mostly seems to be along for the ride on this one, but his thoughtfulness and insight prove invaluable to Chuck in his search for Lucy before time runs out.

Seriously exciting, and it more than touches on a wide extent of human trafficking that goes on in this country. It's a great value for $4.99. Now I'm stuck waiting for #6.

Book Review: Blueblood

by: Matthew Iden

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
Four unrelated murders. Nothing special in Washington DC. Not even good enough to make the evening news. But then a concerned police lieutenant approaches retired homicide detective Marty Singer with a simple fact that changes everything.

They were all cops.

In a race to stop the killings, Marty tackles the case from the outside, chasing the killer from deadly Southeast DC to the heart of the Virginia gangland, on a mission to stop the spilling of yet more Blueblood.

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I beta-read and reviewed the first Marty Singer book, A Reason to Live. I thought it was excellent. I went through a phase of reading all the Michael Connelly books I could get my hands on. I also adore Jonathan Kellerman. My point being I love a well-written, gritty, crime novel. Iden does not disappoint. I honestly would put him up there with those 2 authors, and better than some others. Any publisher that didn't sign this guy should be regretting it now. The Marty Singer novels are superb.

Marty Singer, if you remember from the 1st novel, is a retired homicide detective fighting cancer. It means, our hero is unique. He has the knowledge and the experience as a 1st rate detective, but his illness leaves him easily tired and weakened overall. It means that, not only are you on the edge of your seat wondering who-done-it, but you are wondering if Marty is going to be able to complete the case with or without assistance. Not to mention wondering how his cancer is doing.

And I'm not lying when I say I was on the edge in this one. At one point I thought I was to the wrapping up stage. And this tends to be where I get bored. And I started relaxing and just wanted to see what Marty still had to do and if there'd be more news from his Doctor, when something so shocking took place I literally jumped.

It's the 2nd novel in the Marty Singer series, and fully worth the read. And BTW folks, that's not all he's done. He has several short story collections and other books that I found free at Amazon. Probably not free anymore, but reasonably priced since he's a self-published author. A diamond in the ruff, for sure!

Book Review: Deal with the Devil

by: Samantha Curtin

Available at Amazon

Synopsis:
Deal with the Devil is a series of four short stories that follows The Family, a group of vampires on their quest to quench their thirst for blood. The series centers on Aer, the seductress and newest member of The Family, and her need to rid the world of the immoral while satisfying her love of carnage.

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I had the pleasure of doing a beta read for this story. Sam is really a talented writer. Her characters can be annoying at times, but it gives them depth. Tell me a single person in your life that doesn't get on your nerves at any point.

It starts off with this young woman...I can't remember her name, but she's so boring! All she does is complain about her boring life and how she wants to get out of town. But stick with it...she does find her destiny and she really comes to life, even as she loses her life.

So Aer becomes a part of this close-knit vampire clan, and they travel the country. The fun thing about these vampires is that they only kill people who they think "deserve it" but their bar is set pretty low.

So even while you are being creeped out by these vampires, it still makes you think about morality and mortality. Good job, Sam!

Book Review: Hell or High Water

by: Joy Castro

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
Nola Céspedes, an ambitious young reporter at the Times-Picayune, finally catches a break: an assignment to write her first full-length feature. While investigating her story, she also becomes fixated on the search for a missing tourist in the French Quarter. As Nola’s work leads her into a violent criminal underworld, she’s forced to face disturbing truths from her own past and is confronted with the question: In the aftermath of devastation, who is responsible for rebuilding what's been broken?

Vividly rendered in razor-sharp prose, this haunting thriller is a riveting journey of trust betrayed—and the courageous struggle to rebuild. Fast-paced, atmospheric, and with a knockout twist, Hell or High Water features an unforgettable heroine as fascinating and multilayered as New Orleans itself.

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Very well written and edited. I read this book without even one hiccup. Well except for the short people who had to smack my arm to get my attention. I stayed up so late last night because I wanted to finish it, not because I had to.

The main character, Nola felt like a soul sister. She had a few friends but everyone was kept at a distance. They did all appreciate that she could keep a secret. Considering she is a journalist, that's an amazing skill!

She loves the written word and doesn't like a lot of fluff language. That's the reason I suck at writing business correspondence. They LOVE fluff. I just want to get to the point and get out of there.

The story keeps you guessing all the way through. I wish I could tell you more but I can't. I can only say that it's a roller coaster ride. It's listed as a thriller, but I wasn't so much afraid for Nola as worried about her sanity. When the author described Nola's descent into depression, it felt familiar.

There is the thriller element, but it's also highly political. Highlighting not only the vast chasm that exists between whites and non-whites and the poor and wealthy. When speaking to the disparity between the races with regard to jail time, the old lady who used to watch Nola said,

"In this world, baby girl, there's no such thing as justice. You got to make your own."

When she starts interviewing people about the sex offender registry she finds a sickening disparity. Wealthy mothers are educated about the registry, and work like hawks to protect their children. The mothers from the 9th ward, have never heard of the registry and don't have computers anyway. Plus they treat sexual abuse as a reality, and while they won't tolerate it they also feel their daughters need to learn to protect themselves. (I don't think either is particularly healthy.)

I will give only one warning. If you've ever been sexually abused, this might be a difficult story. There's nothing too graphic, but the feelings and realities in this story are hauntingly familiar. It could easily pull some triggers.

Double Dexter

by Jeff Lindsay

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
Dexter Morgan is not your average serial killer. He enjoys his day job as a blood spatter analyst for the Miami Police Department . . . but he lives for his nighttime hobby of hunting other killers. Dexter is therefore not pleased to discover that someone is shadowing him, observing him, and copying his methods. Dexter is not one to tolerate displeasure . . . in fact, he has a knack for extricating himself from trouble in his own pleasurable way.

Like the previous five best-selling novels in the Dexter series, Double Dexter showcases the witty, macabre originality that has propelled Jeff Lindsay to international success. Double Dexter is raucously entertaining . . . full of smart suspense and dark laughs.

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Silly me - I had no idea Dexter was based on a series of books. My husband and I saw most of season one, when it aired on CBS. I don't think it came back because with all the censoring of language and gore, each episode was only 5 minutes long.

The cover, with the double blood-covered knives sets the creepy stage. I was actually surprised how creepy Dexter really is. In the series you get the feeling that he really is a decent guy with a serial killing bend. But no, he's a psychopath all the way. The only reason he follows the rules is to stay out of jail. The only person he really loves is his daughter. He married his wife basically because it helps him blend in more and she's a great cook. The kids are psycho too, and Dexter is taking them in hand to mold them to be like him. That's what creeps me out - instead of getting them help he is encouraging them. The baby girl is the only one with a chance of growing up normal.

The story is from Dexter's perspective, so it does leave all the other characters slightly 2 dimensional. It works in this case. The point being, Dexter doesn't know how to read other people, remember he's psychopathic?

In the beginning Dexter is "playing" with a guy who dresses up like a clown to prey on children. Dexter does pick people you don't mind him killing. The clown had been taking boys from the park near his hotel/apartment. When he was done with them, he disposed of their bodies nearby in a sewer tunnel. Dexter knew this was a bad egg. He's all set up and working in an abandoned house (isn't the foreclosure crisis grand?) when someone happens in and sees him. The witness leaves so fast that Dexter can't catch him. He then spends most of the book tracking this guy down.

Mostly I enjoyed the story. But if Dexter was really worried about this guy, he would have made it more of a priority to find him. Instead it was a spare time hobby, most nights spent doing nothing more than seeing his family. Although perhaps Rita's erratic behavior was puzzling him. Even though he doesn't get people, there is enough description that we readers can guess what is going on. Trust me, you'll know Rita's problem LONG before Dexter does.

Oh and Dexter's brother makes a comeback. He comes over every Friday for dinner and puts on the charm for Rita. He wants Dexter to join him. I thought Dexter had murdered his brother, but then again I can't really remember and the books and the TV show aren't exactly the same. Honestly I like this book better than the show. I may find Dexter extra creepy but it made for a tense, thrilling story.

So yes, if you like Dexter, then read this book. And as someone who has not read any other Dexter book, you can just pick it up and read it. You might get a little confused when he talks about the rules of Harry. Well when Dexter was little his brother and he witnessed the very brutal murder of their mother (parents?) and were locked up with the mess. Harry, a police officer on the case, adopted Dexter. He saw what Dexter was going to be, and shaped him to only go after bad guys and only after he had proof they were indeed guilty. So Dexter has his outlet but in a useful way...kinda...even Dexter realizes it's wrong he is powerless to stop himself. So I guess if you have to better to go after people who are truly wasting air?

Convergence

by: Joseph Gellene

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.

Synopsis:
How do you stop a killer who remembers everything you're about to do?

John Smith greatly enjoys his unusual life. He's wealthy, long-lived, and very well traveled. He jumps to the 21st century expecting to be reunited with his daughter but finds she has been brutally murdered. Under normal circumstances it was a simple matter to undo an untimely death but, in this case, the killer remembers multiple fact patterns and easily thwarts John's attempts. To save his daughter, John must overcome shifting fact patterns, a determined detective, and three versions of the killer. His research shows that he fails, but facts can be fluid.

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This book is The Time Traveler's Wife and The Matrix all rolled into one. It's full of suspense and action and lots of different "fact patterns" due to numerous "fact shifts". The way it is supposed to work is there are people who go from birth to death with no jumping around, they are called linears. Then there are people who jump all over the place through infinite possibilities and probabilities. Toss in some physics - ok I really don't fully understand it but in the story it does make sense.

When the people who jump around...the Ordinals...and enter a new fact pattern, they generally forget anything else. They only know what is real where they are at. It saves their sanity. A few people can remember it all, all the shifts and possibilities, and these people wind up insane - there just isn't any other way.

The plot? An older Ordinal named John Smith finds his daughter murdered and while avoiding run ins with the police finds an abandoned little girl who is a new ordinal. He takes her back to his safe house where she is cared for by the caretakers. As an adult she is back to exact revenge against the man who murdered her parents...whoever that is. Then there is the police officer, a rookie who meets up with - or has a convergence - with his older and much older selves.

Criticism? Like the Time Travelers Wife, it gets hard to follow when all the characters and the facts of the story are shifting, it constantly changes throughout the story, and really kicks up toward the end.

You get to know the characters just enough. I'd have loved more background information on John Smith and Parker, two central characters that just don't get enough history or personality into the story.

That being said, I enjoyed the story. I had a hard time getting started, but by the time I reached the end I couldn't put it down. It's a great story if you can keep the facts straight. But don't feel bad if you can't, sometimes the characters couldn't either. lol

Bedbugs

By: Ben H. Winters

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Synopsis:
FOR RENT: Top two floors of beautifully renovated brownstone, 1300 sq. ft., 2BR 2BA, eat-in kitchen, one block to parks and playgrounds. No broker’s fee.

Susan and Alex Wendt have found their dream apartment.

Sure, the landlady is a little eccentric. And the elderly handyman drops some cryptic remarks about the basement. But the rent is so low, it’s too good to pass up.

Big mistake. Susan soon discovers that her new home is crawling with bedbugs . . . or is it? She awakens every morning with fresh bites, but neither Alex nor their daughter Emma has a single welt. An exterminator searches the property and turns up nothing. The landlady insists her building is clean. Susan fears she’s going mad—until a more sinister explanation presents itself: she may literally be confronting the bedbug problem from Hell.

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Remember those Quirk Books that literally redefined the classics of Sense & Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice by adding sea monsters and zombies? Ben Winters even wrote/rewrote Android Karenina...which I did enjoy as much as I did the classic Tolstoy version.

Anyway here is a book he wrote all by himself. A thriller with bedbugs at the core of the plot. It was heart-wrenching watching Susan lose her sanity inch by inch. No one close to her believed she had bedbugs but then people farther away started shutting her out just in case. I have heard they are making a comeback so that made this book extra creepy. You will get itchy reading it. And I don't recommend reading it in bed.

Fast paced, well written, and most important very scary. Characters are all well developed and either likable or creepy...whatever they need to be. Susan finally finds and ally who comes to her aid after Susan loses it and attacks her husband. The "exterminatrix" comes to her aid, and when Susan tells her what she did the lady laughs and says "Well, you know, infestations place extraordinary strain upon a relationship."

Great ending that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end. I'm so very grateful to Quirk Books for letting me read this one.

Backlash - a novelette

by: Nancy Fulda

Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.

Synopsis:
Eugene Gutierez lost his wife, his pride, and part of his sanity during an undercover anti-terrorist operation in South America. Now, he's about to be recruited by operatives from the future; and they're not going to let him say no. Originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, this novelette was listed in Tangent Online's 2010 recommended reading list. About 11,000 words.

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This is a super fast sci-fi thriller, containing only 31 pages. I read it in a few hours...it would take less without kids. lol

Eugene gets pulled into a black op from the future, forcing him to be a very quick study - he wasn't even supposed to be aware but the constant flashbacks he suffers from prevents the science from working properly.

Add to this finding out his daughter is part of a terrorist group, his world is thrown upside down in a matter of minutes. And he must recover from all this and do the job he volunteered for...well his future self volunteered.

As I said, very fast read. Great descriptions. I got lost in the tech-heavy description of the time-travel, very physics based. But even though I couldn't understand that part, it doesn't really take away from the story. She does try to explain it deeper, but it was still Greek to me.

If you like action packed sci-fi, you'll love this short story. I enjoyed the story, but I think it was too short and too scientific for my tastes. Alas, I can only give this 3 stars. And yes, I would chance other works by this author. She is a very good writer.