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ClareR (6241 KP) rated The Last One in Books

Aug 29, 2023  
The Last One
The Last One
Will Dean | 2023 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Last One had me riveted from the first page. I mean, what must be going on in the mind of Will Dean that makes him write like this? I’ve asked the same question many times before of Stephen King, and I could see him writing something along these lines 30 years ago: a woman wakes up on a cruise ship that holds over 1000 people - and they’re all gone. Every single one of them. Where could they be? The boat is out at sea - surely the boat can’t have been evacuated and she’s just left there alone?

And it just gets stranger and stranger. There were times that I really didn’t want to read on. I hated Will Dean for writing certain things - how could he even think them?! 🤭 Genius. It made me feel supremely uncomfortable, angry, SO ANGRY, frustrated, and a bit sad, too.

I can’t/ won’t say any more about the plot. To say anything at all would be to give it away - and the reveal is EVERYTHING!

This is one of those books that I’ll be thrusting into peoples hands saying: “Read this, now! It’ll drive you MAD, but you’ll love it!!”
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2585 KP) rated Until Depths Do Us Part in Books

Sep 11, 2024 (Updated Sep 11, 2024)  
Until Depths Do Us Part
Until Depths Do Us Part
K. B. Jackson | 2024 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sailing Away with a Dead Bride
When her nephew needs a last-minute location for his Thanksgiving wedding, Charlotte reluctantly offers the private residence ship she’s just learned her late husband bought a cabin on. Charlotte and her sister, Jane, aren’t sure about this wedding, but they are trying to be supportive for their nephew. However, their first night at sea, someone kills the bride, and their nephew becomes the obvious suspect. Can the sisters figure out what really happened?

I’d been wanting to try this author’s books for a while, and I’m glad I did. This book handled the tricky job of backstory and mystery set up well, and I was pulled into the story from the beginning. I did feel the interactions with one character got repetitive, but overall, the plot kept me engaged as Charlotte kept finding out more things that might have played into the murder. The solution was perfectly logical when we got there. We met the majority of characters at once, so I had a harder time keeping them all straight, but I did by the end. That doesn’t apply to Charlotte and Jane, who are great main characters. I enjoyed the fantasy of cruising, yet the murder is played seriously. I’m looking forward to booking another cruise with this series soon.
  
DD
Down Down Deep
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
98 of 220
Booksirens ARC
Down Down Deep
By Christina Delay
⭐️⭐️

Did I kill him?

Jesse David, professional travel writer, can’t shake the past she doesn’t remember. With her blackouts growing worse at the approach of her father’s death anniversary, she’s convinced that this trip is her last chance to find answers. But then Momma tags along and brings her special brand of abuse and a suitcase full of secrets.

Gabriel Gutierrez, cruise ship director, doesn’t perform the job—he is the job. For the past two decades, he has avoided his home and the destruction he brought upon his family, yet he cannot escape the heavy anchor of guilt. When Jesse steps on board, old shame renews and compounds as not one, but two deaths rise from troubled waters.

With a clock ticking and lives at stake, Jesse and Gabriel must decide whether the dangerous truth should rise to the surface or remain drowned in the deep.

I don’t know this started off as though I was going to really like it but then I really struggled with it half way through. The ending was ok but something about the whole book just irritated me a little. I’m quite an emotional reader and somehow just didnt evoke any.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
  
Cocktails & Casualties (Crooked Cove Mysteries #1)
Cocktails & Casualties (Crooked Cove Mysteries #1)
Carly Wayne | 2023 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
COCKTAILS & CASUALTIES is the first book in the Crooked Cove Mysteries and we are introduced to Teddy, a wandering bartender who decides to go exploring by herself when the cruise ship she is on docks at an island. Unfortunately, time gets away from her and she ends up stranded. Luckily for her, she is found by a nice couple who take her to 'civilisation' where she can at least eat and sleep in a bed for the night. Then her adventures really begin.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story as Teddy becomes good friends with Jazz, and learns all about the other members of the community. Hawk is a great character and I hated what happened, although he still managed to hit me in the feels near the end of the book. There is a slight triangle here with Nate and Santi, which I'm hoping doesn't become a thing. Santi, all the way!

The pacing was wonderful and all the characters well fleshed out. I enjoyed my time in Crooked Cove and look forward to returning, where (hopefully) I'll see more of Santi! Definitely recommended by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Aug 17, 2023
  
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Apr 9, 2021  
Cozy mystery fans, sneak a peek at STIFF LIZARD by Lisa Haneberg on my blog. (How amazing is that book cover!?!)

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2021/04/book-blitz-stiff-lizard-spy-shop.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Rodent Roger, a popular Galveston Island exterminator, goes missing the day after he tells private investigator and spy shop owner Xena Cali about a concerning uptick in green iguana sightings on the island. They’re crapping in people’s boats and falling from trees. Are the lizards swimming over from Florida to escape the pythons, or is it something more nefarious? Can Xena help untangle the mess before the raucous reptiles take over Galveston?

Ultima Penelope Roger is a best-selling writer of romance novels. The Lizard Liquidators have set up shop on Galveston Island. Herpetologist Quintana Flores, PhD, works on a bizarre cruise ship that sails out of the Port of Galveston. Sasha Barlow is a driven junior reporter who’ll do anything to get the story. Ned “The Pelican Man” Quinn writes a column about bird necropsies. Captain Ethan Slaughter is the head of the Major Crimes team at the Galveston Police Department. Xena and her team will have to partner with and/or battle this cast of characters and others to solve what becomes a disturbing murder investigation.

Stiff Lizard is the third full-length book in the Spy Shop Mystery series. If you like fast-paced crime novels, clever satire, and gritty beach towns, then you’ll love Lisa Haneberg’s humorous and contemporary cozy caper.