"Deadly Web" A Glenmore Park Mystery by Mike Omer

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"But the best -laid plans of mice and men oft go astray. Sometimes, they go astray because of an anonymous phone call. In this case, it was a phone call reporting a murder, A woman named Dona Aliya had been strangled to death. Just like that, Jacob and Mitchell were snatched from Frank Gulliepe's case, and thrown unceremoniously into a completely different murder case."....

Detectives Hannah Shor and Jacob Cooper each have a murder to solve.  Hannah feels she has to prove herself after a previous mistake. Her case isn't necessarily one she cares if it's solved or not. Jacob on the other hand, is going to have to extend himself to solve the one he gets. His victim, Dona, was involved in an online game that may have led to her death. Jacob isn't exactly computer savvy so this case is going to be a challenge. 

This is the 2nd book in the police procedural novel called the "Glenmore Park Mystery." In the first book we read about Detective Mitchell Lonnie and his cop sister, Tanessa. In this one Mitchell steps in to help Jacob when he catches that other murder case. His sister Tanessa is also part of this book, in a minor role. 

Can they solve either case? Is the victim, Frank, in the first case going to get justice? Not everyone thinks he deserves it.  Can Hannah fix her previous mistake, or is she being too hard on herself? I liked seeing more of the other cop characters this time around. while still keeping the ones from the first book. It expanded your view of the "Glenmore Park Police Dept."

Characters that I enjoy reading about and an interesting story, just as good as the first one. Comfortable read. Some exciting moments, and a great ending. Oh the future possibilities! Looking forward to more in this cop series.

Thank you Mike Omer

"Beautifully Unfinished" by Beverley Hollowed

                                                                           

"Even as she said the words, she knew in her heart she was lying. She hadn't moved on. If she was honest, she wasn't sure she ever would. She couldn't bear to be touched, couldn't bear to let anyone close to her, and being back in River Springs just made her feel weak and vulnerable again. "......

The story begins the night Lucy Chance has her life destroyed by Trent. An end of football season,high school party, that turns into her nightmare. Not everyone believed her. River Springs is a town not likely to forget or forgive. They turned their backs on Lucy that night. The worst were those that lied about her. 

Nine years into the future Lucy has a career that she is successful at. A photographer in New York City, she's made her circle small. An incident back home brings Lucy back to town. A town she hoped she'd never have to see again. Now she'll have to face the boy she left behind, Riley,  the one who saved her, Tucker, and the one who ruined her life to start with, Trent. There will be the people who didn't help when they should have. How will she deal with all of them?

Lucy's dad is recovering from a gun shot wound received in the line of police duty. She really had no choice but to go back. Told back and forth between that night and now. 

Can Lucy rebuild her life to include love? Will she let her past continue to ruin her future? Her friends may be her saving grace. What a great ending!

I loved this story. I love this author. I've read other work by her, and she never fails to amaze me with her well written stories and characters you can't help but love and cheer for. Once you start the story you won't be able to put it down. You won't be able to leave it "Beautifully Unfinished."

Thank you Beverley Hollowed.

"Hard Fall" A Thomas Blume Thriller Book 1 by P.T. Reade

                                             

                                                          

"I caught a glimpse of myself in the rear view mirror. The steel blue eyes and hard features of my father looked back. The dark hair now streaked with gray was pure Mom. The rest of the unfortunate state belonged to me. Thomas Blume: respected New York Police Detective, decorated hero, widower, loser."..         

                                        

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This is the first book of four in a series featuring a freelance investigator. This mystery series takes place in London. Ex New York detective, Thomas Blume, is on the hunt for the murderers that destroyed his family.

Drinking too much and pursuing cheaters for a living is wearing him down. Thoughts of his wife and son stay in his memory. A surprise incident threatens to expel him from the country. He needs to stay so he can find out who murdered his family there.

A new interest, a case the police never solved, may give Blume the inner strength to pull himself together and get back on track. It was a fast paced read that just took you in from the first page. A few surprises in there as well.

This novella is a great start to what seems a promising series. Interesting characters, and situations, had me immediately hooked. Shocking ending made me gasp. Can't wait to read the next book!

Thank you P.T. Reade

"Last Seen Leaving" by Caleb Roehrig

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"I spent the rest of the day with Tiana's words ring ominously in my ears, even while I tried not to let them get to me. I couldn't just give up and believe that January was never coming back. Like the cops, Ti had avoided using the M word- murder- but I knew she must have been thinking it. Kidnapping only ends one of two ways."...........

This young adult mystery begins when Flynn's girlfriend, January disappears. Of course everyone always suspects the boyfriend first. Her friends don't seem to know where she could have gone. They have stories that surprise even Flynn. He's starting to think he doesn't know January as well as he thought. 

January's new life, since her mom remarried, would have given her plenty of reasons to want to make her parents worry. Flynn's guilt over the last time he saw her, and the fight they had haunts him. It's the last thing he wants the police to find out. 

So while Flynn is searching for answers, we learn Flynn has his own secrets. Will he face the truth about himself? Will he find January? Why did she disappear? Or did she run away? Either way life as he knows it is going to change. Will his family and friends stand by him? January and Flynn aren't the people everyone thought they knew. 

Great mystery story. Very entertaining, and a few surprises will keep you turning the pages. You'll be guessing until the end. Interesting characters and heartfelt, realistic portrayal of teens and their challenges. I enjoyed this story. 

Thank you Caleb Roehrig, Netgalley, and Feiwel & Friends Publishing. 

"Afterward" by Jennifer Mathieu

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"I think about what Dr. Greenberg said about having time to figure out God. I don't know if I can figure out God, but I remember God. Or I remember my idea of God from before. He was this nice guy in the sky would help me out with math tests. When I was in the closet, though, I prayed to God so much, begging for help. For someone to find me. And it didn't happen. "......

Dylan is 11 years old and has been kidnapped. His rescue leads to the discovery of a second child, 15 year old Ethan. Ethan had been held for four years. Now the boys are back with their families, but still traumatized. Dylan is autistic and non verbal. He can't adjust to life back home and his sister, Caroline, thinks maybe Ethan can help him. Only Ethan can understand what trauma Dylan suffered. 

"Afterward" is the story of how two young boys learned to survive, adjust, and go back to the life they once knew, if that is even possible.  It's also the story of how Caroline and Ethan find their own friendship among the ashes. It's the story of how their kidnapping changes everyone and everything forever. 

I loved how much Caroline loves her brother and wanted to help him. Heartbreaking at times. People questioning why Ethan didn't run away or call the police. As if they knew what he went through. The story feels vaguely familiar, as if this may have really happened. Perhaps it has. 

Being friends isn't as easy as it sounds. There's a lot to work through.  Sad story, also sweet. Family sometimes is what makes or breaks all of us. Friends are sometimes the most important thing you have, or can be. 

Thank you Jennifer Mathieu, Netgalley, and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group.

"My Mother's Journals" by Suzanne Whitfield Vince

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"Except it didn't feel particularly good. It felt confusing, and painful, and all she'd wanted to do was run from the room. But she knew Dr. Talcott was right. Her life had not moved forward since that night. She'd lost sight of who she was and what was important. She needed to forgive, not on her mother but her husband as well. But she had no idea how. Tears filled her eyes and she made no effort to stop them."........

Olivia Hunter's life is a train wreck. She's lost her job and her marriage is on the rocks. She's lost so much. Some of it is her own mistakes, some not. Her father has had a stroke and her mother has died. Her mother made a confession on her deathbed that left Olivia shocked. 

One day her mothers journals are delivered. She learns about a whole other life her mother had. She sees her mother had struggled not unlike herself. Can she find a way to learn from these journals? Will it giver her hope, or make her feel more hopeless? Will she forgive her mother's confession?

This was a fiction romance book, not so heavy on the fiction. You will believe this could have happened. Who doesn't want to know what the life of a loved one was really like? The truth can also be quite painful. Sometimes you have to work on forgiveness. Can her mother help her even though she has passed?

The journals begin in 1940 and the passages are a wonderful read in themselves. The story takes place between the past and to Olivia's present life, and the woman, Joe, who discovered the journals to begin with. Joe has her own tragedy to deal with and the journals entered her life at a good time. 

Be prepared for a few tears along with some smiles. It was hard to put down, and I read nearly all of it in one sitting. Nothing is just given away and you must get to the end to put it all together. Beautifully written with characters you feel like you've come to know. I really loved this story. 

                                                                   Thank you Suzanne Whitfield Vance

"All Of Us Were Sophie" (A Murder Mystery) by Resa Nelson

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"The items shed placed on the floor vanished. The problem with duplication, Jack had always said, is that the process destroys the very thing you wish to copy. The original is gone for good.".....

This murder mystery begins when Sophie realizes someone is trying to kill her. Her husband has invented something called a "duplicator machine."  It can duplicate parts, but can it duplicate people? Either way she may end up dead. If she makes copies of herself maybe she can find out who is after her. Duplicating herself is the only chance some part of her will survive. 

Taking place in a town outside of Boston, it's the last thing the bored police officers expect. They live in a town where not much happens. When someone attempts to shoot one of the Sophie's, an officer takes a bullet. Now it won't just be a "Sophie" hunting a killer.

What in the world could Sophie have done to make someone want to kill her? Can the "Sophie's" trust her and Jacks best friend, Ben? What about the duplicates? Can they help figure out this puzzle? Someone wants the duplicator machine, and the money that comes with it? Will at least one Sophie survive?

In search of answers as to who and why leads her on a dark road. What a unique and intriguing story line. Well written, and it immediately captured my attention. A little bit of science fiction mixed with reality.  Fascinating, and maybe not so far fetched. With some clever twists and a few surprises, it was easy to not put this down. Sometimes you don't know who you can trust. What would it be like if you could copy yourself? Great ending!

Thank you Resa Nelson

"Mortom" by Erik Therme

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"I hated you for having the life I never had, all all the opportunities I was never given. You weren't some weird kid who live with his weird mother , stuck in a weird little town. And if that wasn't injustice enough, all I ever heard from my mother was how I should be more like my perfect cousin. And the pathetic part is I tried."......

Andy and his sister Kate arrive in the town of Mortom. Andy has been named beneficiary in a will belonging  to his late cousin, Craig. What at first seems nothing more than a nuisance of a run down house and no money, turns into some kind of twisted treasure hunt. Apparently Craig was fond of puzzles and is continuing a game even after his death. Or was this put in motion by someone else?

So it begins this mystery with the discovery of a note and a key. Andy had the love of  puzzle solving in common with Craig. So maybe it was Craig who set him on this quest? If Craig's death was accidental then how could he have pre-planned a treasure hunt? Why did he just recently write his will a few weeks prior to his death at the young age off 33? There are several mysteries at work here. Can Andy uncover the truth? Is he playing the ultimate game? What is to be gained at the end of this twisted treasure hunt?

Each clue had me turning pages and trying to guess what the clue meant. It was a fast paced story with intriguing characters. Andy and Kate have until Friday the 13th to figure out the puzzle. What happens then? 

Oh the things Andy will have to do to get all the clues. 

Not everyone is thrilled with them being in "Mortom." With a few shocking surprises and an ending that may leave you wanting this to turn into another book. 

Thank you Erik Therme

"The Ties That Bind" by Nicholas Bridwell

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"This little room in the attic had been a sanctuary for him during visits from unwanted guests and boring winters, and he'd always thought that he as the only living person who knew that it existed. But then, one day, noticing a nick in the hard wood of the window sill, he tugged away at the board until he unearthed a tiny monogrammed diary. The contents of the diary would change his world.".....

Artist, and now author, Rufus McKay, paints a vivid recollection of his youth and shares his past. The story is about his South Texas upbringing. His art work a tribute to those who surrounded him. He unfolds his story in front of an audience. 

The real story though are the five families brought together when a tragedy strikes in their neighborhood. The story takes place over time, and generations, and in different parts of the world. You're drawn in from the very start of a terrible event. 

Woven together as friends with a wide ethnic diversity. Backgrounds from as far away as Paris and Japan, Mexico. Each family unique, but tied together over time. Starting as childhood friends and evolving into adult hood. Rufus, Henri, Paulo, Satsu, along with her sister Aiko. There are siblings and other assorted relatives that play a part here.

A lot of the adults are employed by the Fillmore family, bringing them closer together. There is a daughter, Blake Fillmore, who sometimes hangs around with Satsu's sister Aiko, and then the boys. A little complicated with a long list of characters. There is a long standing mystery tied to recent events. In the end though, it's a wonderful story about family and friends, and "The Ties That Bind." 

As the mystery and tragedy unfold you will realize where everything falls together, and what a unique tale this is. I really enjoyed this story! Colorful characters, and descriptions, will draw you in from the very beginning. 

Thank you Nick Bridwell