Review: Presumed Dead

Presumed Dead by Mason Cross
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fifteen years ago a serial killer terrorized the small town of Bethany , Ga. Since the bodies of eight of the supposed nine victims were found on and around Devil Mountain, naturally the name Devil Mountain Killer was attached to the crimes. One victim, presumed dead though body missing, was Adeline Connor. Her only relative, David Connor, a young Bethany man believes he saw his sister on a street in Atlanta. Now, after years of searching the woods around his home to find her body, he is convinced she is still alive and seeks help in finding her. Enter Carter Blake, whose life is dedicated to finding missing persons, including those who do not wish to be found.

Carter is not a welcome guest in Bethany where the small town would let sleeping dogs lie. The killer has moved on, died or gone to jail. No need to stir up old memories. Besides, David Connor had been considered a possible perp and, as an odd ball stoner, was looked upon as an outsider though a local. Still, the first investigator he'd hired to find his sister had been murdered in Atlanta looking for Adeline and though it appeared he'd been a stranger in a bad part of town who was victim of a carjacking gone bad, David did not believe that. As soon as Carter starts snooping, however, bodies start turning up and the method of death is two shots to the head with a .38--same MO as the DMK. Has the killer returned? If so, why? and is Adeline still alive?

As Carter and one of the Sheriff's deputies, Isabella Green, the daughter of one of the victims who died 15 years ago, delve further into the mystery, more people are killed. Some are locals, others are not--so are the killings related to the search for Adeline or not?

The trails and backroads of the area are not the only twisty traits of this compelling mystery. One thing though--I'm beginning to see a pattern to these Carter Blake plots that may give an early clue to the bad guys in the books. Not going to reveal my theory though, don't want to ruin the tales for other readers. Plus, I need to test the theory out on the next book. Hmmmmm

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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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Review: Robicheaux

Robicheaux by James Lee Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Robicheaux by James Lee Burke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

These books are not easy reading but they keep you engrossed to the last page. Though for me, I need to break to absorb what I've read, I find you can't leave it too long before returning or you forget where you are at. The scrapes Dave and Clete find themselves in never fail to keep the reader to the last page. In this one, Dave has fallen off the wagon and has blacked out what may have been his murder of the driver who caused the death of his wife. Clete in the meanwhile finds himself the guardian of a young boy and a romantic involvement yet again with a woman who is not doing him any good. Add to this two aristocratic men Dave has known since childhood--one a politician with his eye on the big prize and an actor's poise that Clete despises and Dave accepts. The other the descendant of Confederate officers with a well-developed pride in his ancestry and a wife who has some serious problems. Eventually, a crooked cop from NOLA and a button man from Miami make the scene with assorted other common folk and low lives. It all comes to a head in the Superdome at a political rally 400+ pages later. Oh, yes, Alifair is home and gets tangled up in the mess, too. I'll take a few days rest and move on into #22. I'm catching up. JLB--time for a new installment!

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