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The Night Gate
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In a sleepy French village, the body of a man shot through the head is disinterred by the roots of...
Hell Bound
8.0
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FBI Special Agent Riley Mathews works alone and for good reason. She’s gone to great lengths for...
Contemporary Romance Romantic Suspense
Lindsay (1760 KP) rated A Wedding and A Killing (Mac Faraday Mystery #8) in Books
Apr 22, 2022
If you are looking for a book that will spice up the beginning of your book or story. Well, “A Wedding and a Killing” is a good one that does just that. Mac and his lady decide to get married in the Spencer Church.
It starts once Gnarly jumps out of the car, runs, and barks at the door, which everyone invited to the wedding for Mac and Archie. They realize that Gnarly will not stop barking to get their attention.
Gnarly seems to be trying to get their attention. When no one is paying attention, He will not leave that door. Once someone goes to the door and opens it, Gnarly finds a dead body. It gets chaotic and brings everyone from the church’s sanctuary as Mac and Archie seem in an argument over Gnarly being there. It seems to bring action when they find a murder occurred.
Who would kill a man with no enemies? Who volunteers for the church. When Gnarly finds a dead body, it brings Mac to team up with David and dives into the investigation. But how long will it take? How long will Mac have to wait to get married to Archie? We seem to get more murders and twists and turns. What happens when Ruth and her daughter get brought in. Will Ruth be framed for murder and her husband? Who killed Jason Fairbanks. We seem to have two cases that interlope, and Mac wants to help and defend Ruth.
Once you start reading Lauren Carr’s books, you will want more of them. You can read any of her books in any order and as a standalone. You will want to read more by finding one of her books or audiobooks. Great for any mystery fan, murder mystery, or even thriller fan.
It starts once Gnarly jumps out of the car, runs, and barks at the door, which everyone invited to the wedding for Mac and Archie. They realize that Gnarly will not stop barking to get their attention.
Gnarly seems to be trying to get their attention. When no one is paying attention, He will not leave that door. Once someone goes to the door and opens it, Gnarly finds a dead body. It gets chaotic and brings everyone from the church’s sanctuary as Mac and Archie seem in an argument over Gnarly being there. It seems to bring action when they find a murder occurred.
Who would kill a man with no enemies? Who volunteers for the church. When Gnarly finds a dead body, it brings Mac to team up with David and dives into the investigation. But how long will it take? How long will Mac have to wait to get married to Archie? We seem to get more murders and twists and turns. What happens when Ruth and her daughter get brought in. Will Ruth be framed for murder and her husband? Who killed Jason Fairbanks. We seem to have two cases that interlope, and Mac wants to help and defend Ruth.
Once you start reading Lauren Carr’s books, you will want more of them. You can read any of her books in any order and as a standalone. You will want to read more by finding one of her books or audiobooks. Great for any mystery fan, murder mystery, or even thriller fan.
Merissa (12934 KP) rated New Nebraska Lessons in Books
Nov 6, 2023
NEW NEBRASKA LESSONS is the first book in a series of standalones, all set in the same world. Even knowing they are standalones, I really hope we catch up with Ceci and her group of men.
She is the janitor at a University, getting lessons and lodging in return for her work, whilst also looking after her ailing mother. She is also the only human there, which means fun times. One by one, she attracts the attention of four different breeds - a bear shifter, a wolf shifter, a fae prince, and a vampire. Her mother disappears and a serial killer is on the loose. Talk about it all going on!
What I loved about it is that however hard the story got, with the concern over her mum, and the grisly murders, the one thing that Ceci didn't have to worry about was the devotion of her men. I LOVED THAT!!! No unnecessary arguments or miscommunications. It was effortless and flowed perfectly. Even with the complications Osric had, it still worked. He wasn't left out and his voice was as strong as the others.
Usually when reading a RH/why choose romance, I have my own personal favourite. Not this time. I love each and every one of them, which is why I'm hoping for a sneaky cameo here or there.
Lots of different characters that I want stories for now, first and foremost being Vesta and Finnian. A brilliant book that I couldn't put down. Highly 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!
Nov 6, 2023
She is the janitor at a University, getting lessons and lodging in return for her work, whilst also looking after her ailing mother. She is also the only human there, which means fun times. One by one, she attracts the attention of four different breeds - a bear shifter, a wolf shifter, a fae prince, and a vampire. Her mother disappears and a serial killer is on the loose. Talk about it all going on!
What I loved about it is that however hard the story got, with the concern over her mum, and the grisly murders, the one thing that Ceci didn't have to worry about was the devotion of her men. I LOVED THAT!!! No unnecessary arguments or miscommunications. It was effortless and flowed perfectly. Even with the complications Osric had, it still worked. He wasn't left out and his voice was as strong as the others.
Usually when reading a RH/why choose romance, I have my own personal favourite. Not this time. I love each and every one of them, which is why I'm hoping for a sneaky cameo here or there.
Lots of different characters that I want stories for now, first and foremost being Vesta and Finnian. A brilliant book that I couldn't put down. Highly 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!
Nov 6, 2023
The Twelve Jays of Christmas
8.0
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The cast of Donna Andrews’ New York Times bestselling Meg Langslow mystery series is back for an...
The Whisper Legacy (Pappa Legacy #1)
Book
Curran’s enemies thought he was dead. They were wrong. He thought his past was left on the Voula...
Political Thriller Action Detective Mystery
Kara Skinner (332 KP) rated Gunning for Trouble in Books
Jun 12, 2019
Bland Characters Gun Each Other Down in Gunning For Trouble
Genre: Contemporary
Page Count: 217 Pages
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.79 out of 5 stars
My rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Caleb was in a dead sleep until his phone alerts him to a break-in to his apartment. Immediately his defensive instincts — honed by his dangerous work of tracking missing persons and protecting witnesses — surface and he springs out of bed with his gun to tell the would-be burglar they have chosen the wrong apartment. But he ends up pointing the gun at Avery Walters, his former boss and ex-lover.
To Caleb’s irritation, Avery is on an assignment from Caleb’s boss about a string of murders in the witness protection program. Now dangerous people are after her and the only person she could turn to was Caleb. Despite Caleb’s resentment and anger toward Avery, he still feels the need to protect her. While they work together to stop the murders, old anger and mistrust rises between them, but so does the lust they feel for each other. Can they move forward and learn to love each other, or will the past always hold them back?
This book was awful. Caleb and Avery have the chemistry of fifth graders in their Drama Club rendition of Romeo and Juliet.
Caleb is a complete jackass. He protects Avery but it’s clear he doesn’t want to do it out of anything other than a sense of duty. Not only is he angry about her waking him up in the middle of the night– you know, just because her life is in danger. She should stop whining, right?– but he constantly makes her feel stupid and makes it clear he resents the shit out of her. He says she fired him so she could get a promotion, when in reality he was a loose cannon who deserved to be fired.
Even his friends and coworkers think he needs to tone down the anger.
“Haven’t heard you apologize to her,” (Zach, Caleb’s friend and coworker said).
“For what?”
“You tell me.”
“I was blindsided by what she did back then.”
“Any chance you had tunnel vision?”
Caleb is also so hot-headed I wouldn’t be surprised if he took steroids on a regular basis. Even someone like Avery, who has little more character than a stock photo, deserves better than that.
Caleb does eventually realize he’s been acting like a PMSing Neanderthal and “forgives her”, still thinking he did nothing wrong but wanting to put it behind him.
Avery isn’t as bad as Caleb, but Avery isn’t much of anything at all. She probably goes down in history as one of the least interesting protagonists ever created.
I might have cared more about the characters if I understood and liked the plot. But even that was a hot mess. While I get the gist of the situation– someone is selling names of people in the Witness Protection Program– I can’t make sense of the finer details. A hailstorm of minor characters were dumped on me at once and I couldn’t even keep them straight, let alone focus on what they were saying.
On top of that, there are a couple of times Avery seems to just “get” stuff and the reader is supposed to just “get” it too. But these aren’t obvious things, nor are they minor.
These things are like why Avery is too dangerous to be around Caleb’s coworkers’ wives. Avery just accepts that it’s reasonable she would put the wives in danger, but it’s not.
Even after reading the entire book and going back to skim parts of it for this review, I still don’t understand the plot that well.
If you are looking for a good Harlequin Intrigue book, you would be better off reading Scene of the Crime: Black Creek by Carla Cassidy. But don’t waste your time reading a half-assed story like Gunning for Trouble
Page Count: 217 Pages
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.79 out of 5 stars
My rating: 1 out of 5 stars
Caleb was in a dead sleep until his phone alerts him to a break-in to his apartment. Immediately his defensive instincts — honed by his dangerous work of tracking missing persons and protecting witnesses — surface and he springs out of bed with his gun to tell the would-be burglar they have chosen the wrong apartment. But he ends up pointing the gun at Avery Walters, his former boss and ex-lover.
To Caleb’s irritation, Avery is on an assignment from Caleb’s boss about a string of murders in the witness protection program. Now dangerous people are after her and the only person she could turn to was Caleb. Despite Caleb’s resentment and anger toward Avery, he still feels the need to protect her. While they work together to stop the murders, old anger and mistrust rises between them, but so does the lust they feel for each other. Can they move forward and learn to love each other, or will the past always hold them back?
This book was awful. Caleb and Avery have the chemistry of fifth graders in their Drama Club rendition of Romeo and Juliet.
Caleb is a complete jackass. He protects Avery but it’s clear he doesn’t want to do it out of anything other than a sense of duty. Not only is he angry about her waking him up in the middle of the night– you know, just because her life is in danger. She should stop whining, right?– but he constantly makes her feel stupid and makes it clear he resents the shit out of her. He says she fired him so she could get a promotion, when in reality he was a loose cannon who deserved to be fired.
Even his friends and coworkers think he needs to tone down the anger.
“Haven’t heard you apologize to her,” (Zach, Caleb’s friend and coworker said).
“For what?”
“You tell me.”
“I was blindsided by what she did back then.”
“Any chance you had tunnel vision?”
Caleb is also so hot-headed I wouldn’t be surprised if he took steroids on a regular basis. Even someone like Avery, who has little more character than a stock photo, deserves better than that.
Caleb does eventually realize he’s been acting like a PMSing Neanderthal and “forgives her”, still thinking he did nothing wrong but wanting to put it behind him.
Avery isn’t as bad as Caleb, but Avery isn’t much of anything at all. She probably goes down in history as one of the least interesting protagonists ever created.
I might have cared more about the characters if I understood and liked the plot. But even that was a hot mess. While I get the gist of the situation– someone is selling names of people in the Witness Protection Program– I can’t make sense of the finer details. A hailstorm of minor characters were dumped on me at once and I couldn’t even keep them straight, let alone focus on what they were saying.
On top of that, there are a couple of times Avery seems to just “get” stuff and the reader is supposed to just “get” it too. But these aren’t obvious things, nor are they minor.
These things are like why Avery is too dangerous to be around Caleb’s coworkers’ wives. Avery just accepts that it’s reasonable she would put the wives in danger, but it’s not.
Even after reading the entire book and going back to skim parts of it for this review, I still don’t understand the plot that well.
If you are looking for a good Harlequin Intrigue book, you would be better off reading Scene of the Crime: Black Creek by Carla Cassidy. But don’t waste your time reading a half-assed story like Gunning for Trouble
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murder and the Birth of the FBI in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<I>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</I>
It is well known that throughout history, facts have been omitted from history books. Written accounts of events ostensibly make important figures and countries appear to be in the right, whereas reality reveals otherwise. One such exclusion is the fate of the Native Americans inhabiting the southern states at the beginning of the 1900s. Children are brought up to believe the stories that “Red Indians” are bad and the cowboys are good, but this was unlikely the case. David Grann has researched into a particular period of Native American history that most people may never have heard of.<I> Killers of the Flower Moon</I> reveals the horrors innocent people faced at the hands of perfidious criminals.
The majority of the book is written as a third person narrative, recounting the lives of some of the members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. White people, believing themselves to be superior, had forced the natives off their homelands and onto rocky, unwanted ground. What they did not anticipate, however, was the abundance of oil residing beneath the surface. The Osage went from being oppressed to being the wealthiest people in the state. Full of avarice, the whites were not going to let them get away with this fortune for long.
David Grann takes a particular interest in Mollie Burkhart, an Osage member with a white husband. Mollie had three sisters, but within a few short years they were all dead, and so was her mother. Believing they had been murdered, Mollie fears for her life. Other Osage members were also being killed, as well as those who tried to investigate the spreading slaughter. However, the case remained stubbornly unsolved.
Nevertheless, there was still hope for Mollie after the arrival of Tom White, an agent of the soon to be known as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Determined to get to the bottom of the so-called Reign of Terror, Tom and his team carefully analyse the behaviours and motives of the disingenuous citizens, narrowing down the suspects until eventually finding their duplicitous killer.
Learning about this unknown period of history is eye opening and offers a completely new view on the relations between whites and Native Americans. It was a time of prejudice and racism, not unlike the attitude towards black people emphasised with the civil rights movement in the mid-1900s. Greed was a significant motivator, particularly where making money was involved. But, David Grann does not stop here.
The final section of <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i> is written from the author’s perspective. As a staff writer at <i>The New Yorker</i>, the evidence of the Osage murders case intrigued David Grann, but he was concerned about some unresolved holes in the story. Determined to uncover the truth, Grann conducted his own research to discover the culprits behind the undocumented murders unrelated to Mollie Burkhart’s family. What he stumbles on highlights the severity of the dark fate the Osage Indians were threatened with.
Despite being written as a narrative, it is obvious that <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i> is a work of non-fiction. It lacks emotion and character insight, however, since it is not meant to be a fabricated story, these elements are not required. Instead, it shocks and disturbs the reader with its unbelievable truths.
An extensive biography proves the authenticity of David Grann’s revelation. With the reinforcement of FBI files, jury testimonials, statements, court transcripts, letters, telegrams, diaries and confessions, Grann produces a strong historical record of events that should not be glossed over. Without authors and books such as <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i>, people will blindly go around believing falsehoods. The truth needs to be discovered, and readers can start by reading this book.
It is well known that throughout history, facts have been omitted from history books. Written accounts of events ostensibly make important figures and countries appear to be in the right, whereas reality reveals otherwise. One such exclusion is the fate of the Native Americans inhabiting the southern states at the beginning of the 1900s. Children are brought up to believe the stories that “Red Indians” are bad and the cowboys are good, but this was unlikely the case. David Grann has researched into a particular period of Native American history that most people may never have heard of.<I> Killers of the Flower Moon</I> reveals the horrors innocent people faced at the hands of perfidious criminals.
The majority of the book is written as a third person narrative, recounting the lives of some of the members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma. White people, believing themselves to be superior, had forced the natives off their homelands and onto rocky, unwanted ground. What they did not anticipate, however, was the abundance of oil residing beneath the surface. The Osage went from being oppressed to being the wealthiest people in the state. Full of avarice, the whites were not going to let them get away with this fortune for long.
David Grann takes a particular interest in Mollie Burkhart, an Osage member with a white husband. Mollie had three sisters, but within a few short years they were all dead, and so was her mother. Believing they had been murdered, Mollie fears for her life. Other Osage members were also being killed, as well as those who tried to investigate the spreading slaughter. However, the case remained stubbornly unsolved.
Nevertheless, there was still hope for Mollie after the arrival of Tom White, an agent of the soon to be known as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Determined to get to the bottom of the so-called Reign of Terror, Tom and his team carefully analyse the behaviours and motives of the disingenuous citizens, narrowing down the suspects until eventually finding their duplicitous killer.
Learning about this unknown period of history is eye opening and offers a completely new view on the relations between whites and Native Americans. It was a time of prejudice and racism, not unlike the attitude towards black people emphasised with the civil rights movement in the mid-1900s. Greed was a significant motivator, particularly where making money was involved. But, David Grann does not stop here.
The final section of <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i> is written from the author’s perspective. As a staff writer at <i>The New Yorker</i>, the evidence of the Osage murders case intrigued David Grann, but he was concerned about some unresolved holes in the story. Determined to uncover the truth, Grann conducted his own research to discover the culprits behind the undocumented murders unrelated to Mollie Burkhart’s family. What he stumbles on highlights the severity of the dark fate the Osage Indians were threatened with.
Despite being written as a narrative, it is obvious that <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i> is a work of non-fiction. It lacks emotion and character insight, however, since it is not meant to be a fabricated story, these elements are not required. Instead, it shocks and disturbs the reader with its unbelievable truths.
An extensive biography proves the authenticity of David Grann’s revelation. With the reinforcement of FBI files, jury testimonials, statements, court transcripts, letters, telegrams, diaries and confessions, Grann produces a strong historical record of events that should not be glossed over. Without authors and books such as <i>Killers of the Flower Moon</i>, people will blindly go around believing falsehoods. The truth needs to be discovered, and readers can start by reading this book.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Scream 2 (1997) in Movies
Oct 31, 2019
Characters – Sidney is back studying a college and over the events of the first film, she has moved on with a new boyfriend and new friends, that is until the ‘Stab’ movie is released. Sidney becomes the primary target of the killer and must use the experience with surviving a massacre before to make it out alive. Dewey still suffering the effects of his injuries in the first film, he is no longer a cop and with the events occurring he arrives back in Sidney’s life to try and help before the killer can get near her. Gale wrote the book on the murders, the one that the movie is based on, she is still trying to get a story, but does start to learn the errors in her way when she deals with other reporters. Cotton Weary does have a bigger part this time, as he is trying to piece his life back together after the wrongful accusations. Randy returns to give us the rules needed to make a sequel which an important part of the original. Of our new characters we get the new boyfriend in Derek who seems to be the best part of Sidney’s new life. Cici is the best friend at the college that is the more popular one at the college. This movie does have a larger cast than the first film which doesn’t always give the characters enough screen time.
Performances – Neve Campbell is still good in her role, she does make us believe she is the everyday student that is being tormented by the killer. Courteney Cox and David Arquette continue their good work in the supporting roles, where this film struggles to get the best of the of the supporting cast is by introducing too many characters, with Sarah Michelle Gellar seemingly filling the Drew Barrymore type role, where we expect to see her more in the film.
Story – The story picks up in a universe following the events of the first film where Hollywood makes movies on massacres, with this release we get to see the darker side of Hollywood taking advantage of real-life murders and how the innocent victims and survivor can be painted differently to cinematic purposes, well that seems to be the message I picked up on in this one. when it comes to the slasher side of things we get to watch the victims getting picked off by the killer, this does feel the same as before, while the references through this film focus on the idea of the sequels that Hollywood makes, and how they always story to improve on the last, though we do step away from the horror discussion this time.
Horror/Mystery – The horror side of the film comes from the ideas that people can take advantage of tragic stories for a bigger story, reflecting the events of the film, the mystery can keep us guessing to just who could be behind it this time around with plenty of potential suspects.
Settings – This time the film is set in a college that show us just where Sidney is now in her life which is important as she has moved on, but the event will always be part of her life.
Special Effects – The effects in the film once again show us how blood and gore can be achieved without going over the top.
Scene of the Movie – The showdown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too many supporting characters this time around.
Final Thoughts – This is a sequel that is well worth the watch, it shows progression in the horror genre with a sequel that does make sense to how an everyday person would be moving on with their life after the events in the first one, while still having the tragedy on their shoulder.
Overall: Good fun sequel.
Performances – Neve Campbell is still good in her role, she does make us believe she is the everyday student that is being tormented by the killer. Courteney Cox and David Arquette continue their good work in the supporting roles, where this film struggles to get the best of the of the supporting cast is by introducing too many characters, with Sarah Michelle Gellar seemingly filling the Drew Barrymore type role, where we expect to see her more in the film.
Story – The story picks up in a universe following the events of the first film where Hollywood makes movies on massacres, with this release we get to see the darker side of Hollywood taking advantage of real-life murders and how the innocent victims and survivor can be painted differently to cinematic purposes, well that seems to be the message I picked up on in this one. when it comes to the slasher side of things we get to watch the victims getting picked off by the killer, this does feel the same as before, while the references through this film focus on the idea of the sequels that Hollywood makes, and how they always story to improve on the last, though we do step away from the horror discussion this time.
Horror/Mystery – The horror side of the film comes from the ideas that people can take advantage of tragic stories for a bigger story, reflecting the events of the film, the mystery can keep us guessing to just who could be behind it this time around with plenty of potential suspects.
Settings – This time the film is set in a college that show us just where Sidney is now in her life which is important as she has moved on, but the event will always be part of her life.
Special Effects – The effects in the film once again show us how blood and gore can be achieved without going over the top.
Scene of the Movie – The showdown.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too many supporting characters this time around.
Final Thoughts – This is a sequel that is well worth the watch, it shows progression in the horror genre with a sequel that does make sense to how an everyday person would be moving on with their life after the events in the first one, while still having the tragedy on their shoulder.
Overall: Good fun sequel.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated The Stolen Ones (Jessica Balzano & Kevin Byrne, #7) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
A cold case comes to live with the discovery of a new body, a new murder, and multiple new connections. A two-year-old child is found standing in the middle of the street. A mysterious man in ragged clothing appears in a little girls closet completely out of nowhere. A woman disappears from her basement without having left her house. With the help of the rest of the experts in the Philadelphia Police Department, Detectives Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne unravel a chilling series of dream-like murders.
The Stolen Ones is book 7 of a series of detective novels. At the time of request, I was unaware of this fact, and I hoped that I would not be confused because I hadn’t read the others. I’m happy to say that I had no trouble at all getting lost in this story. I am totally in love with Kevin Byrne and his snarky Irish attitude, and Jessica’s tough-girl-who-is-here-to-kick-ass mentality.
The story was incredibly complex, and a few times I found myself stopping and saying “wait, what? I’m confused.” I had to check to make sure I hadn’t skipped a track in the audiobook. I hadn’t, all was well… there were just some jarring sections that I think were hard to interpret because it was audio instead of printed. however all things considered it wasn’t enough to negatively affect the story.
The performance by William Hope was very good. I liked his voices and interpretations of the characters a lot, especially Kevin Byrne. He has done quite a few audiobooks, and his experience is obvious; he reads with a good authority, pace, and energy.
There were some gruesome details of violence so it is not for the faint of heart or stomach. It was enough to shock me, but it wasn’t anything I would regret listening to. I’d definitely recommend it to ages 18+ who are into the crime thriller genre.
The Stolen Ones is book 7 of a series of detective novels. At the time of request, I was unaware of this fact, and I hoped that I would not be confused because I hadn’t read the others. I’m happy to say that I had no trouble at all getting lost in this story. I am totally in love with Kevin Byrne and his snarky Irish attitude, and Jessica’s tough-girl-who-is-here-to-kick-ass mentality.
The story was incredibly complex, and a few times I found myself stopping and saying “wait, what? I’m confused.” I had to check to make sure I hadn’t skipped a track in the audiobook. I hadn’t, all was well… there were just some jarring sections that I think were hard to interpret because it was audio instead of printed. however all things considered it wasn’t enough to negatively affect the story.
The performance by William Hope was very good. I liked his voices and interpretations of the characters a lot, especially Kevin Byrne. He has done quite a few audiobooks, and his experience is obvious; he reads with a good authority, pace, and energy.
There were some gruesome details of violence so it is not for the faint of heart or stomach. It was enough to shock me, but it wasn’t anything I would regret listening to. I’d definitely recommend it to ages 18+ who are into the crime thriller genre.