Review: Murder on Trinity Place

Murder on Trinity Place by Victoria Thompson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another series that I love. Not only are the stories set in a time when my grandparents lived in NYC but also around the time my parents were born. As a result, though well before my time, the places are familiar because of their stories and my own early days growing up in Manhattan. Still, the history that Ms Thompson includes in her murder mysteries is every bit as interesting as the locale, the characters with whom we are so familiar--Sarah and Malloy, their neighbors and families. As a science teacher and wife to an Ag teacher, the story of swill milk and the coming of pasteurization at the turn of the 20th century was so fascinating. So, too, the side argument--Was Dec 31, 1899 New Year's Eve for the 20th century? We had the same discussion on Dec 31, 1999 as I recall--lol Some things never change.

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Review: Divided in Death

Divided in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Forgotten how much I enjoy this series--Rourke, Lt Dallas,Eve, Peabody, MacNab, Feeney--NYC in 2050's and crime on this and other planets.! Here Homeland Security plays a major role and it is scary to think what that organization may evolve into. Here, we see a possible scenario--trying to protect our security but also allowing incredible crimes to be committed without any interference in the name of global protection. Four people murdered, innocent people set up to take the fall. But, not on Eve Dallas' watch--they picked the wrong company and its employees, one owned by Rourke. But they also picked the wrong town--Dallas and her crew handle murder in this part of the city. It would appear that the development of a cyber weapon is at the center of this convoluted who done it and the pace and twists keep everyone on their toes. Don't know how Robb keeps coming up with these tales but they never get old and her characters are old friends by now in book 18! She throws in fun futuristic facts about the city, too, such as the Flatiron being the last skyscraper left! I'd miss the Chrysler but it is nice that the first skyscraper is still standing. Would not want to live in a time when only the wealthy can eat real meat or drink real coffee, etc. Soydogs do nothing for me! Time to get some more of the In Deaths to read this summer for sure

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Review: Don't Look For Me

Don't Look For Me by Mason Cross
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Don't Look For Me by Mason Cross
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Engrosssing --Carter Blake, man of mystery, receives an email from an unknown person which sends him to Las Vegas. The person, Sarah, has found the address in a notebook seemingly left behind accidentally by a neighbor and husband, Rebecca and Dominic Freel, who disappered in the middle of the night. Their home is then broken into by two men, again in the middle of the night, leading Sarah to also check out the empty house, which appears to almost never to have been occupied. Worried about the missing friend, Sarah has taken a chance and emailed this unknown person for help. So begins a search that leads Sarah and Carter to a ghost town in Arizona, and into the tunnels beneath Las Vegas. Why have the Freel disappeared, who is the brute that broke into Sarah's home and attacked her--what is going on??

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Review: Invisible

Invisible by Andrew Grant
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Paul McGrath is used to being invisible, having spent most of his young life as a Black Ops guy in all the hot spots of the world. But now, he is out of the service with a letter of reconciliation from his estranged father is his pocket. Unfortunately, the service being what it is--convoluted at best--the letter reached him two years after it was written. When he arrives home, ready to see his father once more and perhaps ready to mend the rift between them, he finds his father is dead and the death is a possible homicide. The father's business partner is suspected but though he was brought to court, the case was thrown out when some evidential material mysteriously disappeared.
With the subtle suggestion, from the lead detective, that he somehow find this folder, McGrath takes a janitorial job in the courthouse where the file is probably hidden. As his search progresses, Paul uncovers many situations, totally unconnected to the missing material and, yet, problematic. He shares the info with Atkinson, the detective, but when it is shelved as being out of his juristiction etc, Paul finds ways to rectify things himself, all the while continuing his own search.
Being a NYC gal it was a joy to follow him on the streets I so vividly remember as he covers Manhattan, on foot, on subway, etc and enjoys the beauty of its architecture and skyscrapers. The only thing that keeps me from a 5 star review is the cliffhanger ending. It would be fine if there were any indication that a subsequent book will carry on the story but the short preview of the next book does not provide one.

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Review: The New Iberia Blues

The New Iberia Blues by James Lee Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The New Iberia Blues by James Lee Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hard to believe I won this book in 2019 but I read the Robicheaux books in order and have finally caught up. I'm afraid I'm a biased reader for I love the New Iberia-Lafayette area of Louisiana and spend at least two weeks there every winter. As a result part of my enjoyment in the books is that I know where things are and when Dave and Clete head through the tunnel of oaks between New Iberia and St Martinsville I'm right there. I've explored all the way to Morgan City been along the Coast to Cameron etc--you get the picture. Still, I've come to love the characters as well and know how old they are getting--at some point Clete isn't going to recover from his wounds and Dave isn't going to be able to knock the shit out of some scumbag in a righteous attack. But, I like them , keep coming back for more. This time a series of seemingly unrelated murders with religious overtones has the gang and the reader at loose ends. Two new younger cops are part of the story--Bailey Ribbons, whose name I do NOT love, gives the aging Dave a chance to feel foolish in love and Sean McClain, who is wet behind the ears but eager to learn. There are the usual cast of abused and misused creatures who hang to life by their finger tips--doing whatever needs doing to survive. Also, the shadowy creatures who break the law and some who take lives without remorse. I keep telling myself there aren't really those people in the lovely Louisiana I enjoy--but I think some are probably real. Certainly the broke, poor and down and out are real and visible even to a visitor. And JLB in his prose paints the scenes, the people and the crimes with such clarity and realism you just have to keep turning the pages until you've experienced it all and then close the book and sit and think about the meaning of it all. The stories, the place, the people just stay with you as you imagine yourself sitting on the banks of the Teche in City Park across from Dave's office watching the Muscovey and Mallards swimming around.

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