Review – Shadow Sands (Kate Marshall #2)

Shadow Sands (Kate Marshall #2)
By: Robert Bryndza
Website: https://robertbryndza.com/
Release Date: November 3rd, 2020
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Kate Marshall
Rating:


Book two in the Kate Marshall series and I’m still in a crime thriller haze of fiction love. We’re back with Kate Marshall as she and her assistant Tristan try and figure out what is going on at the Shadow Sands reservoir and why, after the body of a skilled swimmer is found, that everyone associated with the reservoir is acting off and missing persons cases are being ignored.

Just as I said with the first novel in this series there is a lot of heavy subject matter in this book including kidnapping, abduction, rape, abuse etc. If that’s not something you care to read about turn back now.

Review – Nine Elms (Kate Marshall #1)

Nine Elms
By: Robert Bryndza
Website: https://robertbryndza.com/
Release Date: December 1st, 2019
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Kate Marshall
Rating:


Sometimes book suggestions are so perfect it’s as if the website providing it to you is really inside your head. Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza was one such suggestion that, despite the heavy topics and intense scenes that were admittedly uncomfortable at times, was a perfect fit for me. If you like crime, thrillers, mysteries and tough female main characters the story of Kate Marshall may be a good fit for you as well.

Review – The Last Agent (Charles Jenkins #2)

The Last Agent (Charles Jenkins #2)
By: Robert Dugoni
Website: https://www.robertdugonibooks.com/
Release Date: September 22nd, 2020
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Series: Charles Jenkins
Received From: NetGalley
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


When we return to the life and world of Charles Jenkins we learn that, luckily, he has been exonerated. All should be well as the retired man focuses on his family, right? Well, that wouldn’t be much of a story. If you haven’t read book one and are looking for an edge of your seat espionage novel, start with The Eighth Sister. Then join me with The Last Agent.

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 – For the Best

For the Best
By: Vanessa Lillie
Website: http://www.vanessalillie.com/
Release Date: September 8th, 2020
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Rating:


What else could I, as a mystery/thriller addict ask for? I’ve never read any of Vanessa Lillie’s works before but this book may have brought me to a new author. Her debut novel, Little Voices is now on my wishlist and I will definitely be picking it up sometime soon.

In For the Best we follow the life of Jules Worthington, a CEO, wife and mother as she wakes up the day after an event, completely hungover after her blackout the night before only to find that she has been connected to and suspected of a murder. Rough way to wake up if you ask me.

Sure of her innocence and not liking the pressure of the police as they zero in on Jules as their only suspect she begins to investigate on her own. The further she digs into that night, and everything that lead to it, the more chaotic things get as Jules learns things that were maybe better off buried.

Vanessa Lillie earned me as a fan for all the successful red herrings, surprises and smooth, enjoyable writing style. I will say that I couldn’t fully connect to Jules but I still wanted the truth that she was hunting for so I was happy to see the story from her point of view, even when things took dark and unexpected turns.

If you like suspense, mystery, thrillers and seeing characters go deeper into their own struggles, face their own past and refusing to give up you should check out For the Best which is available on September 8th, 2020.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Vanessa Lillie for the chance to read the ARC!

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 – Under Pressure (Lucas Page #2)

Under Pressure (Lucas Page #2)
By: Robert Pobi
Website: https://www.robertpobi.com/
Release Date: August 4th, 2020
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Series: Lucas Page
Rating:


Normally when I apply for ARC copies I try to avoid books that are not the first book in a series because I don’t want to miss anything in regards to context in a series. However, when I read the synopsis of Under Pressure I couldn’t resist putting in for the ARC.

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.