Review- The Vanishing Season(The Collector #4)

The Vanishing Season (The Collector #4)
By: Dot Hutchinson
Website: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/dot-hutchison/#:~:text=Dot%20Hutchison%20is%20the%20author,adult%20thriller%20The%20Butterfly%20Garden.
Release Date: May 21st, 2019
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: The Collector
Rating:


Book four and the final book in the Collector Series by Dot Hutchinson. The Vanishing Season was just as wild of a ride as the rest of the books in the series. Honestly, when I started book one I knew I was in for some intense reading but by the end of the series, I’m not sure the series has a proper warning label. Seriously, if you’re ready for an intense ride with this group of detectives, jump in at book one. If you’re not sure…maybe wait. The subject matter is heavy, the twists and turns are plenty and if you’re not careful you’ll get sucked in like I did.

Review- The Summer Children (The Collector #3)

The Summer Children (The Collector #3)
By: Dot Hutchinson
Website: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/dot-hutchison/#:~:text=Dot%20Hutchison%20is%20the%20author,adult%20thriller%20The%20Butterfly%20Garden.
Release Date: May 22nd, 2018
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Rating:


Book three in this series by Dot Hutchinson was absolutely intense and I should have been prepared for the roller coaster it took me on but I wasn’t.

When Agent Mercedes Ramirez finds an abused young boy on her porch, covered in blood and clutching a teddy bear, she has no idea that this is just the beginning. He tells her a chilling tale: an angel killed his parents and then brought him here so Mercedes could keep him safe.

His parents weren’t just murdered. It was a slaughter—a rage kill like no one on the Crimes Against Children team had seen before. But they’re going to see it again. An avenging angel is meting out savage justice, and she’s far from through.

Review- Roses of May (The Collector #2)

Roses of May (The Collector #2)
By: Dot Hutchinson
Website: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/dot-hutchison/#:~:text=Dot%20Hutchison%20is%20the%20author,adult%20thriller%20The%20Butterfly%20Garden.
Release Date: May 23rd, 2017
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: The Collector
Rating:


Book two in this dark and twisted series wasn’t quite what I expected. When I learned there were more books in the series I thought we’d get to see more about the victims from book one as they move through their court case. Instead, we are sticking with agents Brandon Eddison, Victor Hanoverian, and Mercedes Ramirez which, I’m not complaining about. We learn about another young woman, Priya Sravasti and the challenges she and her mother are facing years after the murder of her sister.

Review- The Butterfly Garden (The Collector #1)

The Butterfly Garden (The Collector #1)
By: Dot Hutchinson
Website: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/h/dot-hutchison/#:~:text=Dot%20Hutchison%20is%20the%20author,adult%20thriller%20The%20Butterfly%20Garden.
Release Date: June 1st, 2016
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: The Collector
Award: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Horror (2016)
Rating:


I know what you’re all thinking-Another thriller? Yes, of course. Why? I couldn’t resist the synopsis or the draw of the series.

Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.

In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.

When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.

As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding…

Holy crap. And yes, there should be a GIGANTIC trigger warning across this book, if you haven’t already caught on to that by way of the synopsis.

I admit it was a bit of a tough read, given the subject matter but the mystery behind the Gardner, the women in the garden and the survivor Maya kept me turning the pages quickly.

The story was a bit weird at times, given that the information about the Garden was told in flashbacks and that the story was broken up by Maya’s interrogation. I will not say this book was perfect and I know there were parts that were difficult to believe but at the same time I was so deep in the story that I couldn’t find my way out. When I finished book one I bought the rest of the books in the series and dove right in. Probably not the best sign of mental stability to read about crime as much as I do, but oh well!

If you like crime, thrillers and mysteries and can stomach some harsh details you will enjoy this book and series.

Review- Thicker than Blood (Zoe Bentley Mystery #3)

Thicker than Blood (Zoe Bentley Mystery #3)
By: Mike Omer
Website: http://strangerealm.com/mikeomer/
Release Date: June 23rd, 2020
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Zoe Bentley Mystery
Received From: NetGalley
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Funny story, I received the ARC from NetGalley and I read it before the book released. In my head I thought about how to phrase my review and was ready to write it. Then, I just never wrote said review. So here we are, reading a long overdue review for a great book!

Review- In The Darkness (Zoe Bentley Mystery #2)

In The Darkness (Zoe Bentley Mystery #2)
By: Mike Omer
Website: http://strangerealm.com/mikeomer/
Release Date: June 25th, 2019
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Zoe Bentley Mystery
Rating:


Book number two in the series didn’t disappoint me and with strong characters, a twisting plot, the return of the best crazy grandfather ever and a creepy killer to be hunted, well it was easy to finish this book fast.

#ThrowbackThursday Review – The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

The Big Over Easy
By: Jasper Fforde
Website: http://www.jasperfforde.com/
Release Date: July 11, 2005
Publisher: Viking Adult
Series: Nursery Crime #1
Award: Lefty Award Nominee (2006)
Rating:


There’s something almost magical to be said for a library book sale. Are just so many books, and that cash just can’t stay in my pocket. I picked up this book on a whim. Never heard of the author before, but the title sounded interesting and it’d been quite some time since I settled down with a mystery story to boot.

I was excited! It sounded so different, so fun! I immediately told my husband, mother, and mother-in-law all about the synopsis. Reactions ranged from ‘that sounds kind of familiar’ to ‘pretty sure I read that, didn’t you?’. Apparently I’m the only one who hasn’t heard of The Big Over Easy, the author Jasper Fforde, or any of his other books.

Review: Shackled

Shackled
By: Tom Leveen
Website: http://tomleveen.com/
Release Date: August 18th, 2015
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Rating:


When I want a thriller book I can be pretty picky. To that end picking up Schackled by Tom Leveen was a great decision. A distressed main character, a driving force behind all of the character’s actions and an intriguing plot had me hooked quickly and I must say that this was the perfect, quick, thriller I had hoped it would be. 

Review: Twisted

Twisted
By: Hannah Jayne
Website: http://www.hannah-jayne.com/
Release Date: July 5th 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Rating:


Titles are tricky so, when a title that is only one word can get my attention I will grab the book off the shelf, read the synopsis and, if intrigued further, buy the book immediately. That is exactly what happened with me when I saw this title at Barnes and Noble.