Month: May 2018

Duel To The Death – J.A. Jance

I was fortunate to receive this novel as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

Ali Reynolds returns in Jance’s newest novel! In the prologue, we meet Frigg, an Artificial Intelligence ‘AI’, who seems to demonstrate the ability to grow and think beyond her programming. When her creator Owen is defeated by Stuart Ramey, a member of High Noon Enterprises, Frigg senses her imminent demise, and makes some moves ensuring her prolonged existence. Unprovoked, she transfers money, in the form of bitcoin, to Stuart, recognizing his efforts as altruistic, and hopeful that he will re-activate her to gain access to the funds.

Meanwhile, in Panama, a young woman, who’s father is the head of an international drug cartel, and whom managed Owens less-than-legal offshore accounts, recognizes the transfer of assets to Stuart, and recognizes that Frigg must have arranged the transfer. Eager to get her hands on the A.I. herself, she drafts a letter to Stuart, detailing the ‘gift’ of monetary funds, and the need for certain codes to gain access to the funds, betting that he will have to re-activate Frigg to gain those codes.

Meanwhile, strange things begin to happen. A man posing as a building inspector gains access to High Noon and leaves bugs around the offices, only to mysteriously perish later. Stuart, stunned by the ‘gift’ Frigg has bestowed on him, realizes that he needs to reactivate her, to gain access to the money for tax purposes. When Frigg comes on line, she assists High Noon in putting all of the pieces together, shutting down a cartel, and solving some old crimes as well.

I LOVED this book, as I love all of Jance’s work, and I can only hope that Frigg is here to stay in future Ali Reynolds novels! What a creative and great idea Frigg is!! A wonderful, all-in-one-sitting kind of read!!

Her Last Word – Mary Burton

I was fortunate to receive this novel as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

Kaitlyn Roe cannot forget – fourteen years ago, after a gathering with her teenaged friends, she stood helplessly by while her cousin was abducted in front of her by a masked man – and she ran. Gina’s body was never found. Now, an older, sober, and focused Kaitlyn has returned to Virginia in an effort to discover, once and for all, what happened to her cousin that night.

Kaitlyn has plans to bring attention back onto Gina’s disappearance in the form of a podcast. She has been making waves in her hometown, requesting interviews from all that were involved in the events of that night – including her ex-boyfriend, Randy Hayward, in hopes of jogging old memories and perhaps discovering new information. Randy was a suspect in Gina’s disappearance, but never charged – he presently sits in jail on an unrelated charge. She has captured the attention of the local police department, and Detective John Adler.

But she has also captured the attention of someone else. First one of Gina’s friends is found dead. Then, another disappears, and Kaitlyn is injured in an ambush attempt, with her assailant vowing to ‘finish at a later time’. But who would want all of Gina’s friends dead? And why?

I very much enjoyed this suspense/mystery novel from Mary Burton and look forward to reading more from her. Being fond of series type characters, I’d absolutely LOVE to see Kaitlyn & John’s story carry over into future books. Engaging characters, page turning suspense, some sweet romance, and an old wrong made right make for a perfect beach or rainy day read!

Alter Ego – Brian Freeman

I was fortunate to receive this novel as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

Lieutenant Jonathan Stride and Detective Maggie Bei are back again in this fabulous new novel from Brian Freeman!

It’s winter time in Duluth, Minnesota, and one of Hollywood’s A-list actors is in town filming a movie based on a case that Jonathan Stride would rather forget. Dean Casperson is a legend and is playing the role of the detective in ‘The Caged Girl’, a screenplay crafted by the actual murderer’s son.

The story opens with a chance death on a snowy highway, and it’s thought to be nothing more than a fateful accident, until a recently fired gun is found in the wrecked vehicle. As Maggie Bei attempts to identify the body, they realize that the ID the victim carried belonged to a man who died several years prior. So, who is he?

Stride visits the set of the movie during filming and meets his ‘alter ego’ in the film – the great Dean Casperson himself, along with his look-alike stuntman Jungle Jack. While on set, he inadvertently learns that a young stagehand, Haley Adams, has gone missing. Believed to be a Florida native, attending college in Duluth, her identity becomes a puzzle, as the search for her intensifies.

As the investigations continue and eventually merge, Stride learns that Hollywood isn’t all that it seems, deception is rampant, and even the most beloved of actors may be hiding something sinister, and will do anything to protect his reputation.

And then another girl goes missing…

Freeman has done it again, and I found this book to be un-put-downable!! I’ve been hooked since I picked up his very first Stride novel, and this latest installment keeps me desperate for more!! You will NOT be disappointed!! If you love Harry Bosch, Mac McRyan, Lucas Davenport and Tracy Crosswhite, you’ll LOVE Jonathan Stride!