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Category: Mystery & Thrillers

Review: So Pretty It Hurts by Kate White

[ 2 ] May 19, 2012

Reviewed by Caleb Shadis

In my opinion, So Pretty It Hurts mostly falls under the cozy mystery heading. Bailey Weggins, our protagonist, is working for a gossip magazine as the crime reporter. She’s rather independent and impetuous not to mention she has a reporter’s curiosity, which can get her into trouble.

Bailey is invited to a party in upstate New York and since her boyfriend is in Arizona, she accepts (partly as a way to get back at him for leaving in the first place). Most of the guests are centered around a famous fashion model, Devon, her friends and acquaintances. A sudden snow storm maroons everyone at the house and the party turns sour when Devon turns up dead. Bailey suspects possible foul play.

Even after everyone is allowed to go home, Bailey just can’t let it go. She believes that someone gave the already unhealthy Devon a push over the edge. Her suspicions grow dramatically when Devon’s mom claims that Bailey tried to blackmail her, which can be death to a journalist’s career should it not be disproven.

Overall, I thought So Pretty It Hurts was a pretty good book. It was easy to read, there were enough puzzles to keep it interesting and Bailey was a decent character. She was intelligent and caring but sometimes curiosity overrode her better sense. I enjoyed the book and I don’t think one needs to read the previous books in the series to get a hang of the story.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Caleb is a software engineer and amateur woodworker living in southern Minnesota. He has more hobbies than he has time or money for, and enjoys his quiet time reading.

A review copy was provided free of any obligation by Harper. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Racing the Devil by Jaden Terrell

[ 1 ] May 17, 2012

Reviewed by Melanie Kline

Jared McKean is a private investigator with issues. He is divorced and cannot seem to get over it. He is still in love with his ex-wife Maria and misses their son Paulie; he is feeling down when he strolls into The First Edition Bar and Grill. Tonight is the first anniversary of Maria and her new husband D.W.’s marriage and Jared just cannot seem to believe that his thirteen year marriage is over and Maria has moved on.

The first person Jared lays eyes on upon entering the bar is a battered and bruised woman. Jared tells himself that it isn’t his problem, yet when the woman finds her way to his table and asks him to buy her a beer, she becomes his worst nightmare.

Jared and the woman – who introduces herself as Heather – wind up in a motel room with a bottle of Sangria. When Jared awakens in the morning with a pounding headache, his last memory is of them having sex. He finds a note on the table that simply says “I’m sorry”. Jared then sees his picture on the front page of the newspaper – wanted for questioning in the murder of Amanda “Amy” Jean Hartwell.

Jared has never laid eyes on Amy and has no idea where anyone got the idea that he is her lover, but things just keep getting deeper and more twisted from there. When he arrives at his truck, his gun is on the floor sticking out from beneath the seat and he knows that he left it in the locked glove compartment. His fingerprints and DNA are found at the crime scene. It becomes quite apparent to Jared that someone is trying to frame him for this and the race is on to not only dodge the police and stay out of jail, but to conduct his own investigation into who really killed Amy. Jared is convinced that this is the only way to prove his innocence.

I enjoyed Racing the Devil, but felt that it could have used a little more work. The story and events felt a bit distanced and while the beginning of the book moved extremely quickly, the rest of the book seemed to be dragging on. In fact, I had to reread the beginning of the book because by Chapter 4, I was completely lost as to what was going on. Although slow at times, Racing the Devil was interesting and I am interested in reading the next Jared McKean mystery to see if the pace of the story has been improved.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Permanent Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The Bedlam Detective by Stephen Gallagher

[ 2 ] May 2, 2012

Reviewed by Caleb Shadis

The Bedlam Detective has a very Victorian age London feel, even though it takes place in 1912. The suffragette movement is getting it’s legs and automobiles are beginning to replace horses, and moving pictures are the craze. This is were we meet up with Sebastian Becker, previously of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, currently employed to investigate for the Lord Chancellor’s Visitor in Lunacy. The Visitor in Lunacy decides whether or not the rich are sane enough to continue running their own affairs.

We catch up with Becker on a train to meet his next assignment. He arrives just in time to join a search for two missing girls. With the notes his predecessor left, he fears the worst. Turns out his fears are justified.

When I was reading The Bedlam Detective, references were made to Becker’s past in such a way that I assumed the book was in the middle of a series. It is not. Looking at Stephen Gallagher’s writing history, he has a rather eclectic taste in writing. I enjoyed the book and Gallagher’s writing experience shone through. However, his mystery while decent, wasn’t spectacular. He made a few blunders that stuck out to me as far as the plot was concerned but it was still a fun read and the story was very engaging.

Overall, if you are reading this just for the mystery, you might be disappointed; if you want a good story about the time period, it’s worth the read. My favorite part was the retelling of the trip through the Amazon and the anticipation of finally learning what happened.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Caleb is a software engineer and amateur woodworker living in southern Minnesota. He has more hobbies than he has time or money for, and enjoys his quiet time reading.

A review copy was provided free of any obligation by Crown. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The Face Thief by Eli Gottlieb

[ 3 ] May 1, 2012

Reviewed by Jennifer Jensen

With a title as eye-catching as The Face Thief, Eli Gottlieb’s new novel sounded enticing and memorable. The opening chapter drew me in as Margot, the villain of the novel, tumbles down some stairs and ends up injured–obviously pushed by someone. But as the story progressed, I couldn’t wait to be finished with this one.

The chapters go back and forth between the present and the past, where we are witnesses to the events that led up to Margot’s fall. Margot pays for private lessons from Lawrence Billings to perfect her ability to con people, and in the process screws with Billings’ personal life. She is already very successful at what she does, and has conned a married man, John Potash, out of his family’s life savings.

It’s rather difficult to talk about a plot for The Face Thief, because there doesn’t really seem to be one. Gottlieb instead focuses more on the characters, but with so much back and forth between them all I had a hard time forming any emotional attachments to any of them. Neither Billings nor Potash are sympathetic characters; they each contribute in subtle ways to their own downfalls, Billings for giving in to Margot’s flirtations, and Potash for falling for something that was too good to be true. Also thrown into the mix is a police officer that does not enhance this novel in any way. Billings’ wife, a very minor character, is perhaps the most sympathetic of the lot, but after more of Billings’ back story was revealed, I found myself losing respect even for her.

In reading The Face Thief, I have realized that I am the type of reader that prefers a strong plot balanced out by equally well written characters. Novels that focus entirely on characters with a very weak plot–or no plot, in this case–are far less interesting to read.

Rating: ★½☆☆☆ 

Jennifer graduated from the University of Utah with a BA in English. She occasionally dabbles with her own fiction writing, particularly with the Young Adult and Paranormal genres. She currently resides in Utah with her husband and daughter.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by William Morrow. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: More Than You Know by Penny Vincenzi

[ 2 ] April 26, 2012

Reviewed by Ann Liu

Historical fiction that takes off in the 1950′s, More Than You Know describes how different the lives and expectations of the wealthy and working class were and what happened when someone tried to break out of the mold. The privileged were expected to marry the privileged and the men had the financial control in the household while the women stayed home and took care of the kids.

Eliza Clark, the main character, is more of a feminist, choosing to pursue her dream career in fashion instead of getting married. She comes from a privileged family and all her mother wants is for her to marry the man who can give her everything money has to offer. Enter Matt Shaw, a working class citizen. The two are introduced by Eliza’s brother, and become involved in a relationship. When she becomes pregnant, she quits her job, marries Matt – despite her mother’s wishes – and becomes a stay at home mom.

The marriage becomes challenged as Eliza’s dissatisfaction with being a stay at home mom grows. She misses the fast paced career life, and has difficulty dealing with a demanding daughter. Her relationship with Matt becomes more and more strained over time, especially when they lose their second child at birth.

Matt’s very sexist beliefs about the role of a woman in the house, his views on money, and traditional views of a woman’s place in the marriage are dispersed throughout the story. He controls the money, and he refuses to allow Eliza to work even when she has great job offers. Eventually, Matt becomes successful through his business ventures and suddenly feels powerful, forgetting where he started from. This shift in dynamics makes it hard to relate to him at all. As Matt and Eliza eventually distance themselves from one another, Eliza is caught in a one-night affair and divorce proceedings begin.

And that is where the book suddenly becomes engaging! I could feel the emotions of both sides and their custody battle was a very traumatic process. I felt very disconnected from both Eliza and Matt, not believing in their marriage, only because the view of marriage nowadays is so different than what it seemed to be for them. I lost even more respect for them when the divorce started.

Penny Vincenzi does give insight as to why Eliza fell in love with Matt in the first place; the era where women took a back seat to men seems foreign yet real at the same time. The only person I really felt bad for was the little daughter who was caught up in the tumultuous battle. I learned quite a bit about how things were back in the old days and despite growing up in an era where women have equal rights, it is infuriating to think how limited roles were in generations past. More Than You Know definitely reminded me of how far women have advanced since the ’50s!

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Ann Liu loves to read women’s fiction, chick-lit, romance, and self help books. She lives in sunny Southern California, where she can enjoy her time reading outdoors.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Doubleday. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Red, White and Blood by Christopher Farnsworth

[ 2 ] April 23, 2012

Reviewed by Caleb Shadis

Cade is back! And so is the Boogeyman! You heard right, the Boogeyman really exists and most of those stories you heard about the hook on the mirror and the escaped felon on the loose murdering away are the work of the Boogeyman. Cade has sent him to hell many times but his followers keep calling him back. This time he’s got a little extra help and he’s set his sights higher. Cade keeps thwarting him so he’s going to make Cade pay; his first order of business is to make Cade fail by assassinating the President.

It is reelection time and the president’s numbers are slipping. So the president and his staff decide to do a bus tour of the Midwest to try and boost his popularity. Then a brutal murder with two victims is discovered at one of the party’s branches. A message in blood is scrawled on the walls, “It’s good to be back”. It’s not the first time Cade has seen this message.

Red, White, and Blood is the third Nathaniel Cade book in the series and it’s just as good as the previous two. While the first two were a little more tongue-in-cheek and made me laugh at times, Red, White, and Blood got straight down to business.

Farnsworth still pays homage to Lovecraft with hints of Cthulhu popping up. He also seems to be giving the slasher movie makers of the 70s and 80s a nod. I enjoyed the fast-paced vampire story but the first two books took themselves less seriously. I personally hope that that sense of humor comes back in the fourth installment.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Also by Christopher Farnsworth: The President’s Vampire & Blood Oath

Caleb is a software engineer and amature woodworker living in southern Minnesota. He has more hobbies than he has time or money for, and enjoys his quiet time reading.

A review copy was provided free of any obligation by Putnam Adult. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: Heft by Liz Moore

[ 2 ] April 23, 2012

Reviewed by Carrie Ardoin

Arthur Opp is 58 years old, well over 500 pounds, and has not left his home in Brooklyn in ten years. Kel Keller is an 18 year old high school senior who excels at baseball. What could these two men possibly have in common? Kel’s mother, Charlene, was once a student of Arthur’s and has been his pen pal for the last 20 years.

Kel goes to a school where he only fits in because he is great at sports. None of his rich friends know that at night he must come home and take care of his alcoholic mother, who doesn’t do much besides sit on the couch and drink all day. Arthur Opp is also stuck on the couch all day–his weight has made it difficult for him to do very much of anything. But in a moment of clarity, Charlene reaches out to Arthur…and this sets off a chain of events that changes both Kel’s and Arthur’s lives completely.

I liked Heft a lot. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I was really hooked from the first chapter and I ended up finishing it in just a couple of days. Liz Moore’s writing style flows easily and is real–there aren’t a lot of wasted words or superfluous adjectives.

I actually went through the range of emotions that both of the main characters did. When Arthur described his situation and reasons for his life as it is now, I felt such pity for him. In a way, I wanted to scream, “You could have changed this!” but I came to understand his fragile state of mind and the front he put on. His escaping from the weight of his life was not possible to do alone. Kel was also a great character. As an 18 year old kid, yes, he made a few stupid decisions, but with the way his life was going you can hardly fault him for it.

I think the main reason I liked Heft so much was that while I was reading it, I just kept thinking, “Yes, this is real life.” Moore has a gift for creating very real, raw characters and telling their life stories in a way that makes you feel for them. I gave this book 4.5 out of 5 stars only because by the end I was hoping for something, ANYTHING good to happen, and a bit more of closure and a happy ending. But, of course, that’s not always real life.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Carrie runs the blog Sweet Southern Home, and is a stay at home wife and mom to one little boy. When she’s not reading, she’s usually watching Netflix with her husband, playing outside with her son, or baking. Her family would describe her as sometimes annoyingly sarcastic, but mostly lovable. 

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by W. W. Norton & Company. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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Review: The Fear index by Robert Harris

[ 2 ] April 19, 2012

Reviewed by Shannon Hopkins

Dr. Alexander Hoffman is a pioneer in the realm of artificial intelligence. After years of work he has created VIXAL-4, an algorithm that trades in the global markets by capitalizing on the Fear Index – financial movements based on the current level of risk. The success of the algorithm has made billions for Hoffman and his clients even in a falling market, and they are preparing to solicit even greater investments to move forward.

On May 6, everything turns upside down.

A mysterious book, a late-night intruder, and a series of communications Hoffman doesn’t remember having…all these things and more are somehow connected, and Hoffman is convinced that someone is out to ruin him. But who could it be – a disgruntled employee, a client, or a competitor looking to drive him out? As coincidences pile up and his life is torn to shreds, Hoffman must discover a truth more frightening than his worst assumptions.

Robert Harris’ The Fear Index begins slowly but draws the reader in with a gripping sequence of events taking place in the first few pages and setting the tone for the rest of the novel. The exposition is somewhat slow, focusing on the technical aspects of VIXAL-4 and the politics of dealing with investors, until a sudden frenzy of plot movement propels both protagonist and reader to a dramatic conclusion both wholly predictable and utterly shocking.

Not every part of the story fits together seamlessly, however. There are vague references to a potential subplot that, if further developed, had the potential to add greater depth to Hoffman’s journey; instead, the subject is tersely addressed in a few short asides and forgotten. In addition, the web woven around Hoffman is so intricate that a few rereads of different sections were necessary to establish how each element of the mystery fit into the larger whole.

Perhaps, though, that was Harris’ goal. The twists and turns that Hoffman faces are sure to keep the reader guessing, and there are quite a few surprises along the way. Ultimately, the effort to keep the facts straight was well worth it.

The Fear Index is an excellent psychological thriller, with dashes of crime drama and technology thrown in. Don’t be afraid to give it a read.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Shannon lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her fiancé and a room full of books that she peruses when she isn’t trolling Apartment Therapy for new decorating ideas. In her free time she enjoys maintaining her blog, The Writer’s Closet, planning her wedding, and baking tasty gluten-free treats.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Knopf. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

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