Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Under the Ice ( DCI Jansen 1) in Books
May 8, 2024
Book
Under the Ice ( DCI Jansen 1)
By Rachael Blok
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It is the week before Christmas and the cathedral city of St Albans is blanketed by snow. But beneath the festive lights, darkness is stirring. The frozen body of a young girl is discovered by the ice-covered lake.
The police scramble for clues. A local woman, Jenny, has had visions of what happened the night of the murder. But Jenny is an exhausted new mother, whose midnight wanderings pull her ever closer to the lake. Can Jenny be trusted? What does she really know?
Then another girl goes missing, and the community unravels. Neighbour turns against neighbour, and Jenny has no idea who to believe. As Christmas Eve approaches, Jenny discovers a secret about her past – and why she could be key to everything...
This was pretty good I didn’t see that killer coming at all! It’s heartbreaking as a parent I couldn’t imagine going through this. Well written the characters are relatable the only one I had issues with was Will he was good at gaslighting his wife.
Really decent read.
The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper
10.0
Rate It
Book
Beatlemania is back and better than even in this revised second edition. Former teen idol Sandy...
Rise of The Unicorn
Book
Augustus 'Gus' Martin is an embattled LAPD negotiator. Months after suffering a significant blow to...
Mystery Suspense Thriller Psychological Fiction African-American Mystery
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2585 KP) rated Listening Woman in Books
Aug 24, 2024
I wasn’t surprised when the various cases Joe was investigating played into this case, but I did feel like things were a little unfocused early on. Still, everything came together well, and the last third is a page turning thriller. While I like Joe, we still know very little about him or his personal life. Likewise, the rest of the cast isn’t fully developed, but they are real enough given the page time they have. I do appreciate how Joe balances the Navajo myths versus the reality of police work. It’s easy to see why these books are so well loved, and I’m glad I’ve picked them up.
The Glass Bottom Hoax
8.0
Rate It
Book
Cruising Caprice! Madison Night has a reputation for excellence in mid-century modern decorating,...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2585 KP) rated The Glass Bottom Hoax in Books
Sep 26, 2024
It was fun to go on this cruise with Madison and Tex. Naturally, we didn’t see as much of the regular characters, but the new characters did help fill in the gaps. Plus, we got to see some growth in Madison and Tex and their relationship. The plot starts strongly. I felt like part of it was a bit of a stretch, but it still mostly worked for me. Likewise, one of the Easter eggs for Doris Day fans was a stretch, but there are some other fun ones. Really, fun is the overall word for this entry in the series. If you are already a fan, you’ll want to book passage on this entry soon.
The Gardener’s Plot
5.0
Rate It
Book
A woman helps set up a community garden in the Berkshires, only to find a body in one of the plots...
ClareR (6247 KP) rated To The Dogs in Books
Mar 26, 2024
Jim (James) Brennan is a criminologist professor, a vice chancellor of the local university. We meet him as he gets off a flight from Beijing in order to go to his local police station where his son is being held. Jim has tried hard to make his life as different as possible from the one he grew up in: his father was a local legend and hard man. Everyone was scared of his violence. It looks as though Jim’s son is determined to take up from where his grandfather left off.
Things go from bad to worse, when someone is determined to undermine everything Jim has tried to do for himself and his family.
I really enjoyed this. There’s never a dull moment (much to Jim’s detriment!), and Jim finds himself in a terribly awkward situation. He has to decide between his family and his reputation - or is there a way that he can protect both?
This is exciting stuff, and had me guessing up to the last page.
Map of My Escape
Book
The shooting of a homicide detective is captured on film by a mysterious figure from a second-floor...
Detective Mystery
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2585 KP) rated Puzzle Me a Murder in Books
Aug 2, 2024
Despite the fact that I’m not much of a jigsaw puzzle guy, I thought this sounded like a fun premise for a series. Sadly, I was wrong. I didn’t feel like the characters ever went beyond being types, and it felt like they had too many interests or skills in their background. It felt like the author was checking boxes instead of making well rounded characters. There wasn’t attention to detail, so these things bumped me out of the book. The novel could have lost 60 pages without losing anything, the pacing was that off. And the climax, while logical, seemed abrupt to me. I really did want to like it more, but I won’t give this series another chance.