Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Unsub – Meg Gardiner

34069835| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: A riveting psychological thriller inspired by the never-caught Zodiac Killer, about a young detective determined to apprehend the serial murderer who destroyed her family and terrorized a city twenty years earlier.

Caitlin Hendrix has been a Narcotics detective for six months when the killer at the heart of all her childhood nightmares reemerges: the Prophet. An UNSUB—what the FBI calls an unknown subject—the Prophet terrorized the Bay Area in the 1990s and nearly destroyed her father, the lead investigator on the case.

The Prophet’s cryptic messages and mind games drove Detective Mack Hendrix to the brink of madness, and Mack’s failure to solve the series of ritualized murders—eleven seemingly unconnected victims left with the ancient sign for Mercury etched into their flesh—was the final nail in the coffin for a once promising career.

Twenty years later, two bodies are found bearing the haunting signature of the Prophet. Caitlin Hendrix has never escaped the shadow of her father’s failure to protect their city. But now the ruthless madman is killing again and has set his sights on her, threatening to undermine the fragile barrier she rigidly maintains for her own protection, between relentless pursuit and dangerous obsession.

Determined to decipher his twisted messages and stop the carnage, Caitlin ignores her father’s warnings as she draws closer to the killer with each new gruesome murder. Is it a copycat, or can this really be the same Prophet who haunted her childhood? Will Caitlin avoid repeating her father’s mistakes and redeem her family name, or will chasing the Prophet drag her and everyone she loves into the depths of the abyss?

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My thoughts:

An entertaining serial-killer thriller by an author that is new to me. And when I say entertaining, it was just that, for me. Initially I was going with 4 stars. It is an highly complex story with a lot going on. The depth is surprising and oh so well done. When I say deep, I mean Deep! I read a lot of crime thrillers, specially from a cop’s point of view and the level of plot building is what Gardiner really succeeded with. I can’t say so much more due to spoilers, but when I say that you will probably be surprised, I mean it. I especially liked that the serial-killer doesn’t kill due to sexual fantasies or such. It is a lot more deeper and quite refreshing to say it myself.

So why my “low” rating you may ask? Well it is because the rest didn’t fall right with me. The character building is quite shallow and the writing is choppy. Maybe I’m overreacting because English is not my native language, but it was not smooth to read. It didn’t help me with connecting with the characters either. And that ending! After several pages with high intense suspense and a literal countdown to the end pages, it ends on a note I feel could have been skipped. But it is a series and at least two more books is published so I just hope this “thing” will not be a thing that hunts you throughout the series.

I’m excited to read more and see where Gardiner will go with the story and if she will let us readers go deeper into those characters and not just scratch the surface.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Fallen – Karin Slaughter

9635495| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: There’s no police training stronger than a cop’s instinct. Faith Mitchell’s mother isn’t answering her phone. Her front door is open. There’s a bloodstain above the knob. Her infant daughter is hidden in a shed behind the house. All that the Georgia Bureau of Investigations taught Faith Mitchell goes out the window when she charges into her mother’s house, gun drawn. She sees a man dead in the laundry room. She sees a hostage situation in the bedroom. What she doesn’t see is her mother. . . .

“”You know what we’re here for. Hand it over, and we’ll let her go.””

When the hostage situation turns deadly, Faith is left with too many questions, not enough answers. To find her mother, she’ll need the help of her partner, Will Trent, and they’ll both need the help of trauma doctor Sara Linton. But Faith isn’t just a cop anymore–she’s a witness. She’s also a suspect.

The thin blue line hides police corruption, bribery, even murder. Faith will have to go up against the people she respects the most in order to find her mother and bring the truth to light–or bury it forever.

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My thoughts:

This time Faith and her mother stands in the center of this epic and suspended filled piece of art, written by one of my absolute favorite authors. It is gritty and dark but still filled with hope. The storyline is not quite for me, but still good and finally in the end, “stuff” that I have been waiting for is finally happening.

Will has a history with Faiths mother and when Faith was pared up to be Wills new partner in book three, you could see that this would blow up. But it certainly did not blow up in the way I had predicted. Secrets where brought up, gang wars is ravaging the city, family ties and buried history is coming to the light. It was interesting and you got some answers to questions you didn’t even know you had.

Slaughter did as great job as usual. She is absolutely perfect and I can’t recommend the series about Will Trent more than I already does.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Broken – Karin Slaughter

7093222| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: When Special Agent Will Trent arrives in Grant County, he finds a police department determined to protect its own and far too many unanswered questions about a prisoner’s death. He doesn’t understand why Officer Lena Adams is hiding secrets from him. He doesn’t understand her role in the death of Grant County’s popular police chief. He doesn’t understand why that man’s widow, Dr. Sara Linton, needs him now more than ever to help her crack this case.
While the police force investigates the murder of a young woman pulled from a frigid lake, Trent investigates the police force, putting pressure on Adams just when she’s already about to crack. Caught between two complicated and determined women, trying to understand Linton’s passionate distrust of Adams, the facts surrounding Chief Tolliver’s death, and the complexities of this insular town, Trent will unleash a case filled with explosive secrets–and encounter a thin blue line that could be murderous if crossed.

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My thoughts:

Perfection. Utterly, perfection. Not one book in the Will Trent series has received under five star rating so far. Overall Karin Slaughter is a hell of a good writer, who captivates me from the first to the last word. She grips my heart, stomps on it, shoves it back in my chest and then does it all again. I’m in love. Just so damn in love with Will but also Sara. And every time I finish one of her books I feel empty and mentally run-down. Still I’m not able to stop. She is a drug I cannot quit.

Okay, how come I never talk about her or her book if she is so good, you may ask?! I’ve had the blog for over two years now and still there is only one review on one of her books. Well the answer is pretty simple. I save her books. I’m so afraid that it will end and I will not have anything more by her to read. I literary saves her books for that perfect time. Not long ago I found out that I need to stop doing that because I have a whole list with books I’m saving and have been doing that for years. I don’t want to die and not have read the whole Will Trent series and all the other books I wish to read.

Anyway, got a little side-tracked. This story takes us back to Grant County where Sara is originally from. We get to meet some of the other characters from the Grant County series. I have read two (I think) books in that series and first planned to read more. But accidentally read a huge spoiler in one of the earlier books in the Will Trent series that have made me not wanting to read the rest in Grant County. It was nice though to receive some more details regarding that spoiler and some closure. I’m still not interested so far in reading the Grant County series. But probably will one day in the future.

The plot is believable with devious and greedy people who still does everything in their power to save what they hold most dear. A sad but still captivating story with the most suspenseful energy.

Mystery/Crime · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

The black ice – Michael Connelly

17693779.jpg| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: When an LAPD narcotics officer is found with a fatal bullet wound and a suicide note, Detective Harry Bosch follows a bloody trail of drug murders across the Mexico border.

Working the case, LAPD detective Harry Bosch is reminded of the primal police rule he learned long ago: Don’t look for the facts, but the glue that holds them together. Soon Harry’s making some very dangerous connections, starting with a dead cop and leading to a bloody string of murders that wind from Hollywood Boulevard to the back alleys south of the border. Now this battle-scarred veteran will find himself in the center of a complex and deadly game-one in which he may be the next and likeliest victim.

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My thoughts:

A first class crime thriller with an suspenseful plot and well executed story. A pure 90’s detective story and just what I needed. I was craving some good crime with good cop, bad coop and bad guys. Connolly gave me just what I needed. Well executed characters and I feel the dialog is more natural than the first book. It is an easy book to get lost in and perfect for those rainy days.

I don’t have so much more to say. It is outstanding. It’s old and you certainly feel it’s age but for me it was more nostalgia than anything else. I’m more than satisfied and can only recommend you to read it.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

The Mephisto club – Tess Gerritsen

32254| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: PECCAVI

The Latin word is scrawled in blood at the scene of a young woman’s brutal murder: I HAVE SINNED. It’s a chilling Christmas greeting for Boston medical examiner Maura Isles and Detective Jane Rizzoli, who swiftly link the victim to controversial celebrity psychiatrist Joyce O’Donnell-Jane’s professional nemesis and member of a sinister cabal called the Mephisto Club.

On top of Beacon Hill, the club’s acolytes devote themselves to the analysis of evil: Can it be explained by science? Does it have a physical presence? Do demons walk the earth? Drawing on a wealth of dark historical data and mysterious religious symbolism, the Mephisto scholars aim to prove a startling theory: that Satan himself exists among us.

With the grisly appearance of a corpse on their doorstep, it’s clear that someone-or something-is indeed prowling the city. The members of the club begin to fear the very subject of their study. Could this maniacal killer be one of their own-or have they inadvertently summoned an evil entity from the darkness?

Delving deep into the most baffling and unusual case of their careers, Maura and Jane embark on a terrifying journey to the very heart of evil, where they encounter a malevolent foe more dangerous than any they have ever faced . . . one whose work is only just beginning.

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My thoughts:

The sixth book in the series about detective Jane Rozzoli and the medical examiner Maura Isles. A series I have lately fallen completely in love with, even though I have already seen the whole TV show several times over. But the show travels so far away from the book series in the end that now, I hardly notice it anymore.

Not one of those five books before have received less than for stars. That is how good this series been so far. This is however the first time because I did not enjoy number 6 as much as I thought I would and quite frankly I’m a little disappointed.

The story, plot, murders and all that is still on point. It is exciting and filled with suspense. One star! The red thread and resolution in the end was easy to follow, nice history and interesting twists. One star! It was nice to meet the characters again and meet more of the Rizzoli family and drama surrounding it. One star! But that’s it. Three stars is what I give. I didn’t like how little we actually got to be with the main characters. It felt like it was the side characters who run the story. Who solved the crimes and hunted the bad guys. And Isles was just a sad, middle age woman, feeling sorry for herself throughout the book and Rizzoli was just detached from it all and frankly quite cold. It is not what it was in the earlier books.

Everyone can have a bad day (read book) and I think that this is Gerritsens bad day in this series. At least I’m hoping it. Because I really want to read more.

 

Chick Lit · Contemporary · Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Romance

The husband’s secret – Liane Moriarty

17465450| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: My Darling Cecilia
If you’re reading this, then I’ve died . . .

Imagine your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret – something so terrible it would destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others too. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive . . .

Cecilia Fitzpatrick achieved it all – she’s an incredibly successful business woman, a pillar of her small community and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia – or each other – but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s devastating secret.

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My thoughts:

I really, really liked The Husband’s secrets. Never read anything by Moriarty before but keep seeing her name circulating out there in the bookish community. So when I found one of her books in my grandma’s bookshelf I just had to buy myself a copy and give it a try. Grandma has great taste in books.

At first I was a little confused. Judged by the synopsis, I thought that the letter would have had a much bigger part of the story than it actually has. But it is the three main characters, Cecilia, Rachel and Tess, and what was happening in their day to day life, that’s actually was the focal point. I like the history twist of the story, the character and their relationships. It is not disappointed at all that it was not what I first had foreseen. It is relatable, believable and realistic. Really well written and even though it is suppose to be a chick flick, the mystery feel of it and the dark emotions certainly made it a lot more likable for me. It made it more captivating, if you understand what I mean. And that ending was both wonderful, heartbreaking and you sit there thinking, what could have been and are not in your own life and on the butterfly effect.

Non of Moriartys books has interested me but after this I certainly feels that I should look into them to. Maybe I have missed something big here. Either way, I would differently recommend The Husband’s secrets. A perfect book for those late summer days.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Vanish – Tess Gerritsen

591908| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Medical examiner Maura Isles is looking at another body in a slab. Not a new experience for her, but she’s in for another shock when the body opens its eyes and proves to be alive. And violence swiftly follows, as the mystery woman–strikingly beautiful–kills a security guard in the hospital she’s taken to, before capturing a group of hostages. One of them is a pregnant woman–Detective Jane Rizzoli, no less. And if Jane can find out what this lethal abductor wants, she may be able to save her own life–and those of the other hostages. But the clock is ticking.

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My thoughts:

“A brilliant thriller with a topic we cannot forget about.”

Done with the fifth book and even though I did not find it as good as the third and fourth one, it was still a great book. The plot line, even though it was published back in 2005, is still relevant to this day and it’s terrible to think how true it actually is. A brilliant thriller with a topic we cannot forget about. Human trafficking is a multibillion dollar industry and there is a lot of sick and powerful people out there who defends it. I’m not turning this review to a political debate, but it is disgusting to know that there is people out there who do and enjoy this is making me sick.

The characters feel a lot more stable and grounded which gives the book a feel of completion. It is warm, nice and captivating in a way where it is hard to put it down. I did not find it just as good as the last two due to some parts I feel went by too fast. But other than that, this is still a great series I want to read more from. It’s so good and to think that this one is almost 15 years old is quite impressive when you think about how far the technology have gone forward in those few years. Just imagine what is to come when continuing and reading the next 7 books.

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Body Double – Tess Gerritsen

591907| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Dr Maura Isles stared at the corpse in the car, at the face illuminated by Rizzoli’s flashlight beam.

It’s me. That woman is me…

Maura Isles deals with death. As a pathologist in downtown Boston, she has seen more than her share of corpses. But never before has the body on the medical examiner’s table been her own.

There can be no denying the evidence though. The dead woman is her mirror image right down to the most intimate physical details. Even more chilling is the discovery that they share the same birth date and blood type.

Then a DNA test confirms that Maura’s mysterious double is indeed her twin sister, and suddenly an already bizarre murder investigation becomes a disturbing excursion into a past full of dark and deadly secrets.

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My thoughts:

“Filled with secrets and mystery that is unraveling into a believable and realistic plot, but without all that gory stuff that is so popular.”

This series is only getting better and better. I threw myself over this one right after I finished the third book and now I feel the need to throw myself over the fifth book to. That is how good this series has turned out for me. This is just another fantastic continuation in the “lives” of Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles and I’m in love. And wow what a plot. Filled with secrets and mystery that is unraveling into a believable and realistic plot, but without all that gory stuff that is so popular.

The story line is not at all like the ones in the TV series and it was perfect. You get to know new things about the characters that has been changed when writing the TV series and that made me even more attached. We also get to follow Isles the most of the time and even though I’m not as huge fan of the book Isles as I am for the TV Isles i enjoyed it immensely.

It is a real page turner. The ending took me by total surprise, fitting but not what I would have wanted. It only fueled my need for more and not surprisingly, I threw myself over the fifth book to. Damns this is good.

 

 

Mystery/Crime · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

The Sinner – Tess Gerritsen

32257| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: Not even the icy temperatures of a typical New England winter can match the bone-chilling scene of carnage discovered at the chapel of Our Lady of Divine Light. Within the cloistered convent lie two nuns–one dead, one critically injured–victims of an unspeakably savage attacker. The brutal crime appears to be without motive, but medical examiner Maura Isles’s autopsy of the dead woman yields a shocking surprise: Twenty-year-old Sister Camille gave birth before she was murdered. Then another body is found, mutilated beyond recognition. Together, Isles and homicide detective Jane Rizzoli uncover an ancient horror that connects these terrible slaughters. As long-buried secrets come to light, Maura Isles finds herself drawn inexorably toward the heart of an investigation that strikes close to home–and toward a dawning revelation about the killer’s identity too shattering to consider.

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My thoughts:

“I can’t believe it took me as long as it did to fall for the series, but I finally did.”

What a great book. This was so good. Best one so far in the series. And now that I’m finally starting to not compare the books to the TV series, I enjoy it even more. I couldn’t wait with the fourth book so I threw myself over that one just seconds after I was finished. That is how good this was. That is how invested I’m starting to be in the “lives” of Isles, Rizzoli and all the other characters.

Crime and mystery is always a genre I feel at home with. It was the first type of books I loved in my early teenage years, long before I found romantic suspense and I love when authors can bring in something “new” in a genre where it is pretty much the same in different colors every time. And I love this series. It is down to earth with no excessive, over the top, murder cases. It feels realistic, believable and captivating with all that secrets unraveling. And all that personal life, Oh it is just so well balanced together and beautifully done. I can’t believe it took me as long as it did to fall for the series, but I finally did.

Contemporary · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense

Dirty laundry – Liliana Hart

36303602

| GOODREADS | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥|

Goodreads synopsis: A new novel in the New York Times bestselling series: Coroner JJ Graves and her husband Sheriff Jack Lawson are back on the job when the body of an elderly woman is found in Bloody Mary.

Rosalyn McGowen is everyone’s favorite great-grandmother. She always has baked treats in her bag, she smells of roses, and she takes in stray cats. No one knows who could hurt a sweet old lady. But Rosalyn isn’t exactly as she seems. Every Thursday at noon Rosalyn secretly posts The Bloody Mary Tattler on social media, and it has everyone in town both captivated and horrified.

When Rosalyn’s secret is discovered along with her body, it’s not easy for JJ to determine her death as a homicide. But it’s not long before they discover the list of suspects is endless and Rosalyn didn’t exactly take all of her secrets to the grave.

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My thoughts:

“There relationship is so well written, it feels natural and realistic and it is easy to connect with.”

Another brilliant J.J Graves story from Liliana Hart. I read book 4.5 in the series several years ago and then I quite forgot about the series while waiting for book five. It was nice to pick up the thread again. I really like Harts writing where you get this warm, fuzzy feeling and even though the book about murder, death and human eating cats, there is also an aura of a feel good book at the same time. Mostly because I love JJ and Jack. Their relationship is so well written, it feels natural and realistic and it is easy to connect with. This time the book also has the feel of a mix between “desperate housewives” and “Midsomer Murders”. Such a fun story and plot to follow.

The conclusion in the end was however somewhat rushed and rich in details. It was a little hard to keep up with it to understand who the killer was and the why’s. It also ended on a major cliffhanger and we still haven’t received the whole truth around JJ’s dead parents. There is just so many loose threads floats around and it is time to knot some of them and be done with it. It is time to reveal those secrets.