Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2470 KP) rated Killers of a Certain Age in Books

Feb 6, 2023 (Updated Feb 6, 2023)  
Killers of a Certain Age
Killers of a Certain Age
Deanna Raybourn | 2022 | Mystery
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
If You Plan to Take Out Killers, Don't Miss
Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have spent their lives working as assassins for a super-secret organization that calls itself the Museum. They have had a successful career individually and as a team, but they are ready to retire now. However, the cruise that the Museum sends them on turns out to be a trap. Now they have to wonder who is out to kill them. And why.

I’ve been hearing good things about this book, so I went in looking forward to it. And I did enjoy it. It reads like an action movie, and there were plenty of scenes that had me turning pages. However, it could have been stronger, with another few twists and turns and slightly stronger characters. The book fits in the action genre in that regard, right? It does have more language and violence than I typically read. It also has plenty that made me smile and laugh as I was reading. Most of the book is written in first person past tense, but we a few chapters flash back to the past and they are written in third person present tense. While I didn’t think this book was quite as good as many others seemed to, I definitely enjoyed it and I’m glad I read it.
  
Oh Buoy (Voyagers #1)
Oh Buoy (Voyagers #1)
Ava Olsen | 2022 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
OH BUOY is the first book in the Voyagers series and we start with a really cute couple! Both of them have issues to contend with, but both of them also realise just how special things are between them. It starts with Drew getting soaked by one of the deckhands. Sarcasm abounds before he realises that is actually his billionaire boss.

Drew and Rowan make a fantastic couple, even if they can't actually relax for the majority of the book. The tender moments they share make it sheer bliss for a hopeless romantic like me. They are ably supported by a cast of top-notch characters, some of whom I already know have their own stories to come and I honestly can't wait.

This is a sweet and sexy read with low angst. Absolutely perfect for what I needed right now and would definitely be on my list of summer reads! With plenty of character- and world-building, this book was delightful and I can't wait to continue the series. 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!
Jun 5, 2023
  
The Dark Wind
The Dark Wind
Tony Hillerman | 1982 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Plane Crash Brings Mystery
Navajo police detective Jim Chee has recently transferred to a new area in the reservation, and his unfamiliarity with the area and people is making it hard to investigate cases. For example, there’s the John Doe body he can’t even identify. And he has no leads on the case of the windmill that is being sabotaged. While out staking it out overnight, Chee witnesses a plane crash. A plane that was flying low without lights. Chee figures those flying the plane were up to no good, and he is ordered to stay away from the Federal investigation. But it’s kind of hard when the Feds think he knows more about the crash. Can he figure out what happened without framing himself more?

While this is the fifth book in the series, and the second to feature Jim Chee, it reads like a standalone, with little from the previous book being brought up here. That isn’t to say that the characters are bad, it’s just a difference in storytelling from what we get today. I found the characters pulled me in. The mystery was strong with plenty to keep me guessing and a red herring that distracted me. Yet the ending was logical. As always, the landscape and culture came to life. I’m looking forward to more.
  
ZF
Zombies From The Deep
Nick Grey | 2015
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Where do I start with this book?

To be honest, I nearly didn’t make it to the end. It started off quite well but then quickly descended into something ridiculous which had me laughing at its absurdity - the nymphomaniac? Don’t even go there!! However, I have been “told off” for reviewing a book I have not finished before so I persevered. I must admit to heaving a sigh of relief when I had finished and thought it was a pile of rubbish and I was going to write a review straight away but I didn’t have time, so have left it a couple of days and I am glad I did because I have had time to digest and reflect on what I have read and have changed my mind.

I think this is a cleverly written book which appears one thing at the start but becomes something completely different by the end and all the bits that seemed preposterous suddenly made sense. I can’t say too much as I don’t want to give the game away but I will say that this book is not as it seems so I advise anyone who reads it to keep going to the end and then let it sink in for a while.

Thank you to the publisher, Hocus Pocus Publishing Inc and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
  
TN
The Next Right Thing: A Novel
Dan Barden | 2012
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I won a copy of this book from First Reads on Goodreads.

First of all I have to say that it wasn't bad or good...more of an okay read. There was action & drama. There was a whole host of characters, but the downside to that in my opinion is that none of them were all that well developed with the exception of Randy the main character. His girlfriend MP, seemed important at the beginning of the book, but then she pretty much disappeared. I cound Troy & Emma to be the most fascinating characters, but they weren't developed to the extent that they could've been.
The book tells the story of ex-cop Randy Chalmers, who is now a highly in demand home builder & recovering alcoholic. One day his mentor Terry turns up long dead in a hotel room of an apparent heroin overdose in a seedy motel room. The catch is, Terry had been clean upwards of 15 years. So the former detective in Randy takes over when he begins to doubt that a simple O.D. is how he best friend died. In the course of his not so under the radar investigation, he stumbles across something much bigger & finds that his friend is smack in the middle of it.
The story was a promising idea that wasn't brought to it's fullest potential. It was a fast, okay read, but not one that I find myself dying to share with someone.