Bestselling Author Archives

“Violet Dawn” by Brandilyn Collins

Bestselling Author, Christian, Cozy, Mystery

Don’t read the first chapter of “Violet Dawn” if you plan on stepping into your hot-tub in the middle of the night. You might not ever get into it again unless there are floodlights blazing on the deck.

Imagine: a touch, a brush aside of something annoying and ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU REALIZE YOU’RE IN A HOT TUB WITH…” Shriek!!!!! – The scene Collins has written would be a delicious opening for a movie. (Play ‘Psycho’ music here)

Collins’ loyal following has put her on the bestseller list with several faith-based series. “Violet Dawn” is the first in her Kanner Lake group, featuring a small town reminiscent of TVs Cabot Cove – where everyone knows everyone else’s business, but whose residents also stand ready to help when life takes a downturn. The Kanner Lake population seems unfriendly at first, but then we get to know the quirky regulars at the Java Joint and realize that our initial impressions have been filtered through Paige Williams’ eyes, a young woman with a complex past. Paige’s background drives her distinctly odd behavior at the beginning of the book, and Collins keeps the readers’ interest as that past is revealed, a bit at a time, against the backdrop of a missing persons search and then, murder investigation.

Although new in town, Paige has the support of both her boss and the owner of the Java Joint when the murder investigation points to her. A fame-seeking reporter finds her humanity and plays a pivotal role in “Violet Dawn.” An honest Chief of Police keeps digging until the truth is revealed. Each of the characters has a story of his/her own to tell and it seems clear that they will be more fully developed as the series continues.

The main villain, Black Mamba, slithered through his scenes in a satisfyingly sinister way. The character was a bit over the top at times in comparison with the rest of Kanner Lake people, but he works as a stark contrast between decent townspeople and the creeps who would do us harm.

By the way, if I ever buy a hot tub, it’s going to have a transparent cover!

Titles from the Kanner Lake series: “Coral Moon,” “Crimson Eve,” and “Amber Moon.”

Collins’ work is sometimes grouped with Christian fiction; other times with cozies.

For more about Collins and “Seatbelt Suspense,” visit www.brandilyncollins.com

“Violet Dawn” by Brandilyn Collins Read More »

“Misery Bay” by Steve Hamilton

4 Comments / Bestselling Author, Mystery, Suspense

The best mysteries are great puzzles, giving us bits and pieces of the storyline, one by one until the killer is revealed and the reason for the crime becomes apparent. The lead character is compelling, likable even though flawed, and when faced with a challenge? Never walks away until the case is closed, despite the heavy toll that case may exact upon his/her soul.

Alex McKnight, a former cop from Detroit, sometime Private Investigator, now spends his time working on one of his rental cabins. He avoids any real contact with the world except for meals and imported Canadian beer at the Glasgow Inn. He doesn’t even own a TV. When a cold wind blows in through the pub’s doorway and a former hated colleague, Chief Roy Maven, walks in, McKnight is pretty sure nothing good will come of the visit. And it doesn’t.

The Chief has a friend, Raz, whose son has just committed suicide. The man wants to know why. An impossible question to answer, but McKnight is being asked to spend some time looking into it in order to ease the father’s mind. McKnight connects with Raz because of a shared need to do something about a death that could not be explained, and because the case is a reminder of his own past that troubles him.

McKnight conducts some light inquiries, chats with the son’s former classmates, and then heads back to report his findings, however slim. Except that Raz is dead. And his death is no suicide.

McKnight and Chief Maven have never liked each other and that dynamic is perfect as they work together to convince the FBI investigators that there is a killer on the loose and that the case is not closed. They bully each other as they search for answers, defying the FBI orders in the process, but more effective in their tenacity. The body count rises and connections and motivation must be found before the next victim dies. Even they are at risk.

No plot spoiler here, but clues to the ’why’ begin early on. There’s nothing to tie them to the story, so we wonder why they’re there, dangling, causing us to twitch with curiosity. Patience, dear reader. 😉

The Michigan Upper Peninsula winter is a character in the book; as the backdrop in the first paragraph, and a recurring theme. The landscape and the weather each play a part in the initial case and the dramatic climax to “Misery Bay.” I’ve never been so cold while reading a book. I reached for sweaters as the six or eight inches of snow fell every day and the wind blew and ice formed everywhere. When Hamilton wrote, “By the time the end of March rolls around, everyone’s just a few degrees past crazy,” I believed him.

There is a haunting scene when McKnight sees the spot where the first body was found overlooking Lake Superior. What a bleak, cold, lonely way to die, hanging by a rope from a tree next to a frozen lake, alone. But, there are many haunting scenes. The “I am bleeding” passage is riveting, harrowing, masterful.

This is a dark book, touching upon past crimes against McKnight and those close to him, old injuries, old demons. There is little that is cheery about it, few soft edges. Even the ‘thought about’ romance is sad, tinged with regret and what McKnight isn’t ready for right now. Maybe later, but not now. The man is suffering, in a dark place, and still can’t go into the cabin where a tragedy occurred in his own life months before. His friends try to help, but he can’t quite turn the page on his sadness, can’t quite release his guilt. Yet, the man has a sense of humor that relieves the tension periodically, and a warm, caring, dedicated strength that generates loyalty and respect from even those who dislike his rule bending actions.

“Misery Bay” is the eighth in the Alex McKnight series and the first I have read. It can be read as a stand-alone, but the references to past cases are so intriguing that it won’t be my last.

Bestselling author Steve Hamilton is a two-time recipient of the Edgar award as well as several other very cool crime writing awards. Please visit www.authorstevehamilton.com to learn about the rest of his novels.

“Misery Bay” by Steve Hamilton Read More »

“Harvest” by Tess Gerritsen

Bestselling Author, Medical, Thriller

A young, talented surgical resident, Dr. Abby Di Matteo, is recruited to become a future member of Bayside Hospital’s organ transplant team. Seems perfect – a dream job where she will be doing something she loves while working with her fiancée.

The catch? She and Chief Resident, Dr. Vivian Chao, take a heart listed in a donor registry for their dying teenage patient, but somehow slated at the last moment for a wealthy woman who is number three on the donor list. The husband of the rich patient is incensed and tries to ruin Dr. Matteo’s career. Terrible murder accusations are made, but no one believes in her innocence except Chao who did the organ harvest with her. Matteo wonders whom she can trust, especially when the origin of the transplant heart becomes suspect.

This action packed novel is full of surgical detail along with personal, legal and professional drama. A parallel story of potential transplant donors (involving the Russian Mafia) is tragic and horrifying at the same time.

Organ harvesting is certainly not new, but in 1996, when this book was first published, the medical community in the U.S. was undergoing yet another review of the process of matching donors with recipients. It had been legal to donate organs for over thirty years, but as transplants of all types became routinely successful, doctors of the gravely ill sought more donors. It became important to establish a national clearinghouse for the available organs, ranking potential recipients by need for the organ, not by income level. This ranking eliminated questions of unfairness, but wasn’t foolproof. Enter a new phase for the medical thriller.

A bit of literary trivia: “Harvest” mentions a paralyzing drug, succinylcholine. This drug is widely used by anesthesiologists to induce muscle relaxation during surgery, but in the wrong dose can cause wide-awake paralysis. If you enjoy medical thrillers, you might remember the same drug used in Cook’s “Foreign Body” (published in 2008) with very different results.

Please visit www.tessgerritsen.com for more information about Gerritsen’s many bestsellers, including the Rizzoli & Isles series upon which the TV show is based.

“Harvest” by Tess Gerritsen Read More »

“Baltimore Blues” by Laura Lippman

Bestselling Author, Mystery

Tess Monaghan is an out-of-work investigative reporter who relies on the kindness of relatives to get by. She works a few hours a week at her Aunt Kitty’s bookstore in exchange for a third floor room in her house. Uncle Donald pays Tess out of his own pocket to do paralegal work for him. It’s been two years since she drew a legitimate paycheck, her unemployment benefits have run out, and she gets free meals by winning head to head rowing competitions with her pal, Darryl Paxton, the ‘Rock.’ The ‘Rock’ lets her win. Her friends rarely let her pick up the tab.

One day, Darryl says he’ll pay Tess to use her investigative skills to uncover why his fiancée has been acting strangely. Tess doesn’t like Ava, so she’s looking forward to making some cash while digging up some dirt, and find dirt she does. When Tess confronts Ava with the information, life takes a nasty turn for Darryl – he is arrested for murdering Ava’s boss, Abramowitz. Abramowitz, who put accused rapists back out on the street, is nobody’s favorite guy, but Tess is hard-pressed to find anybody else who looks as good as Darryl for the crime.

She is willing to break into places to get the answers she needs, and can make the most creative excuses to justify her behavior. She blackmails security guards with exposure of their wrongdoings, while blithely carrying out some criminal capers of her own. She gets away with it because of her former connections to journalism and present loose connection with a lawyer defending her best pal. Taking advantage of romantically inclined friends is not beneath her. At all.

The deftly tied together assortment of she said/she said encounters, heart-breaking murder, extortion, fraud, deceit, shattered hopes, and revenge take place in Baltimore, ‘the city that bleeds.’ One storyline allows us a glimpse into the secret life of a wealthy Baltimore family, another reveals the rigors facing a competitive rower, along with wonderful descriptions of old neighborhoods long since abandoned by polite society. This is home to Tess and she loves every raw scent of the ethnic communities that make up the whole. We know that she would never leave, and that Tess’ loyalty to Darryl is based on something more than free blueberry pancakes and races on the Patapsco. He pushes her to do more with her rowing, to be more present in her life.

Tess’ complex personality is deliciously likable. Who among us doesn’t attempt to justify our daily misdemeanors? Who wouldn’t try to undo the damage done by a well-meaning slip of the tongue? Tess just does it against the background of murder and other felonies. While quoting poetry and humming patriotic songs.

The fabulous cast of characters is as diverse as it is real. Her colorful aunt, the luscious former boyfriend, the serial killer, two VOMA members, and more… The subplots evolve naturally and the nasty types play nicely against Tess, never quite sure what she does and doesn’t know. The sparring matches reveal as much about Tess as they do about both victims and survivors.

“Baltimore Blues” is a great beginning to the eleven book (so far) series. I just downloaded the second title, “Charm City.”

New York Times bestselling author, Laura Lippman, is the recipient of the Anthony, Edgar, Shamus, and Agatha Awards.

Please visit www.Lauralippman.com for more information about Ms. Lippman, the rest of the Tess Monaghan series and her stand-alone books.

“Baltimore Blues” by Laura Lippman Read More »

“The Hunger Games” trilogy by Suzanne Collins

Bestselling Author, Dystopian, Young Adult/Teen

What would happen if your father died and the only source of income for the family disappeared?

Have you ever skipped meals so that your sister could eat? Would you break the law to keep your family from starving? Would you place your life in danger rather than let your sister go to certain death?

Do you have it in you to kill people in order to stay alive? What are you made of? Do you have the power to change the world by your actions?

If you’re breathing and have access to multi media, you have probably heard of the “Hunger Games” trilogy (or the movies based on the books) and might even be numbered as one of the legions of fans.

What is it about this worldwide phenomenon that has captured the interest of so many people, both young and old? Some say that the trilogy is violent, is depressing, and there are very few nice characters in the tale. (A teenager shared with me recently that the perceived violence label is odd, given the violence level in TV shows and PG-13 movies) This series is so popular among the Young Adult/Teen crowd that it’s being studied in High School English classes in the U.S.

At the “Hunger Games” core is a teenagers’ love story, a triangle of Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, and Gale Hawthorne. Jealousy, unrequited feelings, and complete cluelessness on the part of our heroine keeps the two guys alternately at arm’s length and/or willing to die for her. Katniss has been emotionally closed off for so long while trying to survive in a Dystopian world, that tenderness and caring from others is a surprise and she rarely sees it as genuine. The only person in her life that she is sure she loves, whose love in return she knows is real, is her sister, Prim. And, for her sister, she would risk all.

But, the themes in the “Hunger Games” are broader than a love story, even as good as this one is. Katniss, Peeta, and Gale live in the coal-mining District 12 of the country Penam. Two children (ages 12 to 18) from each of twelve Districts of Penam are chosen by lottery to compete in the annual Hunger Games, a punishment delivered by the government for a rebellion that occurred decades in the past. Over a period of several weeks, the champions from each District are challenged with brutal survivalist type tasks: fending off vicious wild animals, using the meager supplies granted to them by the game masters, foraging for the rest, while killing off their opponents with whatever means possible. The competition is to the death, because only one can remain standing at the end. The reward? Better food for a year for their families back home.

But, even in victory, there is fear. Missteps can cause the downfall of others, the death of innocents. The government is always watching, wary of people who show any signs of leadership or rebellious tendencies, and willing to impose medieval justice to anyone violating the law.

The supporting characters are interesting people that give depth to a sometimes terrifying story set in the desperation of a world gone horribly wrong. The villains are multi-layered, some forced to do the government’s bidding, some genuinely nasty. The hairdressers, the groomers, and the trainers are complex, flawed and all working to make the best of a corrupt world that gives no quarter to the weak and rewards the strong only with survival.

"Hunger Games" is an excellent, chilling YA novel, recommended to me by several teenagers as well as some adults. I thoroughly enjoyed the pacing and the realistic characterization. I couldn’t put any of the books in the series down until the last gripping pages, even in the second read-through to do the review.

Not surprisingly, archery became popular again to teenagers in the United States after Katniss first used her bow. A bow was even used as the murder weapon of choice by a teenager in an episode of the TV show, “Longmire.” The TV show, “Revolution,” had a bow wielding teenager as one of the central characters. And, the copycats abound. But none quite so successful as the original, Katniss.

The three books in the series: “Hunger Games,” “Catching Fire,” and last but not least, “Mocking Jay.”

The movies: “Hunger Games ” played in 2012 and was wildly successful. The second, “Catching Fire,” debuted in November, 2013, with "Mocking Jay, Part 1" following in 2014. "Mocking Jay, Part 2" opens in November, 2015.

‘May the odds be ever in your favor’ that you have a chance to read all of the "Hunger Games" books.

For more information about Suzanne Collins and her books, please visit www.suzannecollinsbooks.com

“The Hunger Games” trilogy by Suzanne Collins Read More »

“Eyes Wide Open” by Andrew Gross

Bestselling Author, Suspense, Thriller

A terrible tragedy has occurred. Jay Erlich’s nephew, Evan, has committed suicide by jumping off a cliff and the family is devastated. Jay feels guilty for not trying harder to stay in touch, even though he had assisted his half-brother, Charlie, and sister-in-law financially whenever possible. The family dynamics had been on shaky ground at best, with a dysfunctional father and multiple step-mothers. Not a warm and fuzzy upbringing for Charlie by any definition. Jay had become a successful surgeon, but Charlie had fallen off the rails, finally on welfare after years of substance abuse. But now, perhaps Jay could make up for some of that gap and at least help discover why the judicial/health/mental care systems had failed Evan so miserably.

Wait. This is an Andrew Gross thriller. There are always layers to the story. And what chilling layers they are…

Charlie feels the system abandoned his son, discharging Evan from a psychiatric facility after only four days instead of three weeks as promised, then placing him in a half-way house with no security. That because Evan was poor, he was shuffled around, neglected and mishandled. That the system killed his son. Then Charlie discovers a piece of evidence that brings his once colorful past crashing into the present, a past that includes unspeakable evil.

As Jay’s investigation continues and even intrudes on his professional life, devastating family secrets are revealed, cover-ups are exposed, relationships are strained to the breaking point, a villain is revealed who is the devil personified, Jay himself is in danger, and Evan’s suicide appears to be something quite different. The characters in “Eyes Wide Shut” are multi-dimensional and completely realistic. I felt as if I was listening in on intense conversations, inside the heads of people living the page-turning story.

One question raised in this book is the attitude by the police toward the less fortunate. Are all big city police so overburdened that they overlook clues, want to close cases before they should? In reality, police departments are overburdened, and if statistics are any indication, the deaths of homeless and mentally ill persons are left unsolved or become cold cases just because there are generally no reliable witnesses to their deaths and/or no family members around to ask about them. According to FBI statistics from 2011, thousands of murder/suicide cases go unsolved each year. To see my post at www.kerriansnotebook.com, “What is a Cold Case?” click here.

Throughout this well written psychological thriller, Gross touches upon several societal issues. Is a poor person less entitled to decent health care, therefore bound to suffer from less attentive meds management? Does nobody care how and where the poor pass away? One only has to visit a less than adequate Medicaid facility to see that there is a great deal of truth underpinning the fictional struggles Jay’s family endures. And, in soul-bearing fashion, Gross bases Evan’s struggles on those of his own nephew Alex, who passed away in 2009. So real on the page, so painful.

A few words of caution: Be careful who you hang out with today…your present associations might hunt you down in the future; no matter how hard you try to hide. Lock your doors when you read this one.

Before Andrew Gross’ tremendous success as a stand-alone author, he co-authored five bestselling titles with James Patterson. “Eyes Wide Open” (2011) was followed by “15 Seconds” (2012) and the most recent, “No Way Back.”

Please visit www.andrewgrossbooks.com for more information about the personal experiences that have fueled his books.

“Eyes Wide Open” by Andrew Gross Read More »

“Running from the Devil” by Jamie Freveletti

2 Comments / Bestselling Author, Thriller

“Running from the Devil” was Jamie Freveletti’s bestselling debut novel, the first of four (so far) with Emma Caldridge as the terrific lead character.

Emma Caldridge, American biochemist and endurance marathon runner, falls asleep on a plane to Bogota, but is rudely awakened when the pilot announces that they should assume crash positions. The plane has been hijacked and it has been ordered toward an airstrip that is too small for the commercial airliner. When the plane crashes, it breaks apart and Emma’s seat lands outside the airliner, away from the others.

The survivors are herded together by a poorly trained, badly funded, dangerous group of guerilla fighters, more interested in a quick cash return than in protecting the passengers. The infighting is barely controlled by the leaders, and may be even more hazardous to the hostages than their forced march through the mine-filled jungle.

Emma helps a young prisoner escape while attempting to grab some apples and she is helped in turn by an injured passenger, a secret government agent named Cameron Sumner, who distracts the thugs while she runs into the tree line to safety. After the plane is blown up, Emma is forced to follow the survivors through the jungle, rather than waiting to be rescued.

What follows is a pulse-pounding page-turner with near misses, communication mishaps, captors turning on each other, land mines exploding and passengers being murdered because they are too weak to keep up. Complicating the plot? Neither Sumner nor Caldridge has revealed the truth about their motives for being in the country. The on again/off again rescue operations by the government agencies as well as the international politics of drugs and oil add to the tension.

Caldridge and Sumner are well-drawn, sympathetic, intelligent characters, each up to the physically challenging situations, but forced to rely on each other to make it out alive. Freveletti has woven the positive and negative uses of plants into the storyline, giving us a how-to survival manual along the way – just in case we ever get stuck in the jungle with maniacs.

One of the scenes that sticks with me is the early one with Emma crab walking across open ground near the downed jet, then scrambling over truck beds in order to steal apples and a phone. I rooted for Emma through her harrowing, high-risk attempt to grab some kind of food for the trek ahead. The tension was palpable and the reader is made aware just how desperate Emma’s journey will be.

A top-flight thriller, a strong female character. While I can’t possibly run 100 miles in the heat, or do some of the other interesting bits I can’t reveal (plot spoiler info), all of what Emma Caldridge pulled off is possible. Whether anyone would ever be asked to do them in the time span that EC had? Well, that’s half the fun of reading a thriller. Pretending that they would.

The most recent Emma Caldridge book, “Dead Asleep,” has reached #1 on the Kindle list.

In addition to her Emma Caldridge series, Ms. Freveletti has written a novel for the Robert Ludlum books, “Janus Reprisal.”

For more information about Ms. Freveletti and her work, please visit www.jamiefreveletti.com

“Running from the Devil” by Jamie Freveletti Read More »