City of Lies--Well, maybe not the Whole City but Certainly Lizzie Miles

City of Lies by Victoria Thompson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Gave this one only 3 stars because it took so long to get me interested. Kept reading but then putting it down to read books that were more engrossing. Returned over and over, for about three weeks, reading a bit at a time, hoping to get more involved in the story. I love Thompson's Gaslight Mysteries so was determined to finish this one, even if this series didn't become a favorite. About half way through the book, Lizzie and the other women get out of jail and return to New York and, finally, the story took off. The con, the balancing of two suitors, the secrecy of a double life became intriguing. Finished it and read the first chapter of the next book in the series given as a preview in the back of this one. Think I'm going to give it a try--the new one grabbed me right away.

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Page Turnng Suspense

Blood Defense by Marcia Clark
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Page turning suspense

If you like Grisham, etc,you'!! !ove Clark! The murders keep piling up, the investigation seems to provide few clues, trial is imminent and prosecution seems to hold the winning hand.

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Love Sees Few Flaws

Amid the Winter's Snow by Tasha Alexander
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Love sees few flaws!

A short but meaningful ode to love and a fitting Christmas Tale. Love overcomes all obstacles,at least in fiction if not always in fact.q

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Addicting Thriller

Dead End Girl by L.T. Vargus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Addicting Thriller

One's mind recoiled from the madness of the killer:his emotionless yet emotion filled plotting.Still, it is impossible t stop reading. The tension builds as each clue seems worthless and the frustration of the investigators increases along with the pressure to catch this guy before he traps another victim. Unfortunately, about a hundred pages from the end it was obvious what would transpire. I really hoped it wouldn't. Despite the whole battle between the characters and it's breathless excitement,this final conflict was too predictable and so,though a conclusive end to the villain, the ending was a let down.

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Strong Women, Tough Lives

The Sans Pareil Mystery by Karen Charlton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Strong Women,Tough Lives

Lavender and Woods return and must solve the mystery of he death of a young woman as those remains fall out from the floorboards of a decrepit building. What appears to be the death of a actress due to natural causes is still perplexing since she appears to have been kidnapped and bound before dying! History,politics and spies abound.

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Too much repetitive detail

City of Dreams by Harriet Steel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Too much repetitive detail

I,m enjoying the Nuala series,but find this too detailed about the political upheaval in Paris and not enough depth of character. Anna is very one dimensional and I found myself as bored as she often was.

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Jane Harper's New Book--A Force of Nature--Is!

Force of Nature by Jane Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having read The Dry, I was really excited to receive the second installment of Harper's Falk series from BookBrowse to discuss on their website. I was not disappointed. Five women are selected to make a trek into the outback of Australia by their corporate employer in an effort to enhance workplace cooperation and morale. One of the five is one of the family who owns the company, the others hold various positions, from managers to subordinates. The object is to hike into the brushland in a very isolated area, make camp on three nights and rendezvous at a pick-up site by noon on Sunday for the 2 hour drive back to Melbourne. When the appointed hour is reached only four of the women arrive, they are exhausted, injured, bruised, bloodied and battered. The missing Alice is not a likeable woman but she is of special interest to Aaron Falk and his partner, since she has been working undercover for them to obtain important documents that will lead to the arrest of the principals of the company for money laundering and fraud.

So, where is Alice? Is she alive? Did she wander off when the group became disoriented and lost? Has she had an accident? Has she died or is she still out there, lost and victim of the elements? Each of the four women have a slightly different version of the four days spent isolated and frightened, without food or water and barely any protection from the cold and rain that they endured.

While Harper keeps the rescue teams and various law enforcement officers busy in the search and takes us along with them, she also cleverly, with short asides, takes us on the journey with the women, revealing to us, gradually the interpersonal relationships and dynamics among the women, as well as some of their personal history and family situations. As the dire situation of being lost and unable to communicate for help deteriorates, so too do the tempers and human considerations of the women. At the end, what happened to Alice is both shocking and yet, not totally unexpected.

A page turner and read, by me, in one day--nothing was more important than finding Alice and knowing her fate.

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Dark Clouds over Nuala and A Suspicous Death--Suicide??

Dark Clouds Over Nuala by Harriet Steel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

British rule in Ceylon and Inspector de Silva must answer to the British superior officer. When a Romanian count appears in Nuala and a member of his hunting party seems to have committed suicide, it is a sticky wicket for de Silva. One mustn't ruffle the feathers of this noble with whom the British wish to remain allied and,yet, questions arise as to whether it was suicide. The situation is further complicated by the missing corpse--is the woman even dead?

Fortunately, the Inspector has two young assistants to aid in the investigation--if their personal lives allow them to be totally involved with their work. On the other hand, there is Jane, de Silva's English wife always there to correct his misquoted British idioms and to bring home the British gossip so essential to any investigation involving getting around the ever present threat of furor on the part of the superior British superior. LOL

Fun books with interesting cases that always seem to be meandering but eventually reach a satisfying resolution.

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Stephen Lavendar Was a Real Bow Street Runner--This Novel is Fun

The Heiress of Linn Hagh by Karen Charlton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An intriguing new series to me


I think I am going to like Lavender and Woods. This installment certainly had a number of interesting twists and several stunning surprises. Figured out the whereabouts of the heiress halfway through.though her means of escape was ingenious and unsuspected. Will have to sample another case soon.

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