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Reader Favorites – New Reviews 2014

Award Winner, Bestselling Author, Christian, Cozy, Debut Author, Mystery, Non-fiction, Romance, Suspense, Thriller

It’s always fun to discover which new reviews get the most attention during the year. The most popular reviews were ReTweeted dozens of times, shared on Facebook, and Google+, and got some attention on Pinterest. There were old titles, new titles, fiction and non-fiction, seasoned authors and debut authors in the mix. Several were best sellers.

In case you missed the reviews, here are the 2014 favorites on NightstandBookReviews in alphabetical order by author. Click on the titles and take a look:

Lucy Burdette, “Appetite for Murder”

Robert Dugoni, “My Sister’s Grave”

Robert Dugoni, “The Conviction”

Sarah Graves, “Triple Witch”

Edith Maxwell, “A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die”

Leigh Perry, “A Skeleton in the Family”

MJ Rose, “The Book of Lost Fragrances”

Barbara Ross, “Clammed Up”

Daniel Silva, “The English Girl”

JB West & ML Katz, “Upstairs at the White House”

Lynn Chandler Willis, “The Rising”

Happy reading!

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“The Rising” by Lynn Chandler Willis

2 Comments / Christian, Medical, Mystery, Romance, Suspense

“The Rising,” by Lynn Chandler Willis, is the story of a baffling event that nobody – detectives, medical personnel, bystanders – can explain. A young child is found in an alley, apparently beaten to death. The crime scene is checked by a detective, and the lifeless, bloodied body is delivered to the hospital by ambulance.

After thirty minutes of testing for respiration, pulse, and brain wave activity, the ER physician pronounces the boy dead and has him moved to the morgue on a gurney. And yet, the next day, that same little boy walks into the morgue office with no bruises and no blood, wearing the toe tag on his foot, and asks to go to the bathroom.

Say what?

The Homicide Detective covering the case, Ellie Saunders, saw that the boy was dead. Everybody at the hospital saw that the boy was dead. And, now thirty hours later, he’s not.

Saunders and her partner are called in to investigate the (now) assault. The child does not know who he is or what happened to him and the hospital is labeling this a Lazarus Syndrome case – very rare and usually only linked to people who have ‘come-back-to-life’ after an hour or two. Unheard of after this long.

Saunders becomes obsessed with finding the boy’s family as well as the person that hurt him so badly. She is horrified at the fact that anyone could have done this to the child, and (without giving away the plot) wants to protect him from further insult or injury. Roadblocks are placed in Saunders way at many turns and as this unusual story unfolds, we are drawn into not only the investigation, but an exploration of faith vs science.

The supporting characters are fully fleshed out; a likably wacky morgue attendant, an assortment of interesting colleagues, quirky locals, caring as well as flirtatious doctors, reluctant witnesses, a supposedly lost love, an outspoken aunt, and an estranged preacher father. Saunders herself is complex, mostly in control of her actions and emotions until the case triggers memories of her troubled past. Those memories drive her to bend a few rules in her tenacious pursuit of the truth.

Willis’ depiction of the child is perfect. She draws on her considerable research with her own delightful family, but there’s another layer here that many writers miss when creating the children in their books. The child’s relationships and personality develop in a natural way through “The Rising,” revealing a combination of shyness, intelligence, appropriate language and reactions. Johnny Doe puts up with the adults’ questions for a bit and then his attention turns to trucks and coloring. Spot-on writing that will tug at your heart and remind you of a child you know. Willis also taps into an understanding of the unspoken messages that children reveal in their play, and makes that a part of the mystery that Saunders must solve.

Along the way, Saunders must come to terms with her own loss of faith and how it has impacted her decisions. Discussions with friends and family are not always welcome. Then, two parallel storylines merge nicely with the Johnny Doe case and Willis brings us home with an action packed, satisfying ending.

It’s easy to see why “The Rising” won the 2013 Grace Award for Excellence in Faith-based Fiction in the mystery/romantic suspense/thriller category.

By the way, Johnny Doe’s fictional situation is an actual medical condition – Google ‘Lazarus Syndrome’ and read the real-life case studies.

Please visit www.lynnchandlerwillis.com for more information about Willis’ other books and upcoming events.

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“My Sister’s Grave” by Robert Dugoni

4 Comments / Bestselling Author, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

In “My Sister’s Grave,” Tracy Crosswhite, a Seattle homicide detective, is still investigating her sister’s murder twenty years after the fact. A paroled rapist was convicted at the time and is sitting in jail for the crime, but Tracy believes the wrong guy was put away.

Her 18 year old sister, Sarah, disappeared the evening following their championship shooting competition, and though a thorough search was conducted, her body was never found. Deep down, Tracy wanted to believe there was a chance that Sarah might still have been alive. But, if not, who killed Sarah? And why? Tracy’s obsession with solving the case has even driven away her sympathetic, once supportive husband.

When Sarah’s body is discovered in a now dry lakebed, Tracy returns to Cedar Grove and wants the case reopened. She faces resistance from unexpected directions as people urge her to let it go, saying that the town has suffered along with the Crosswhite family and wants to move on. What had been a place of unlocked doors has become a place of anger and sadness, without trust. The more Tracy pushes for answers, the more she suspects a cover-up has been buried along with her sister for all that time, the more her own life is in danger.

“My Sister’s Grave” is an absorbing look at the actions of a loved one left behind, consumed with guilt that she was responsible for her sister’s death. Who could move on from that in real life? We know that Tracy should not be shouldering that guilt, but we are drawn into the story and want to find the truth as well.

As always, Robert Dugoni writes fully fleshed out characters, people we can root for as well as people we can despise. Dan, a childhood friend, now a lawyer living in Cedar Grove, works nicely as Tracy’s sounding board and support system when she needs it. Their personal relationship develops naturally and provides balance to the intensity of the fast-paced, mature-themed storylines and jaw-dropping plot twists.

How does Robert Dugoni write the women in his books so beautifully? Get inside their heads in such a believable way? I learned this summer that the man has four sisters. ‘Nuf said.

He also has a knack for creating memorable settings for the climactic scenes in his books. Not to give anything away, but I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough during the snowstorm section.

Dugoni revealed that the idea for "My Sister's Grave" came from an actual water diversion that caused water to recede and then expose previously covered land. His mystery-focused mind went in the direction of murder and an unsolved crime.

This is not an addition to Dugoni’s bestselling David Sloane series, but not to worry. Crosswhite is a character from “Murder One” and Dugoni has done a terrific job of building on that persona and giving her the strong voice she deserves in order to be the lead in “My Sister’s Grave.” If you’d like to read a bit of background on the Tracy Crosswhite character and what makes her tick, Dugoni published a novella a few months ago, titled “The Academy,” that works nicely as an intro to this book.

With so many missing persons on record in the www.NamUs.gov database, what is fiction for “My Sister’s Grave” may be tragic truth for some grieving family out there. What drives Tracy to keep digging would be natural for most families. It’s about closure. We want a wandering family member to be okay. If we suspect that a crime has been committed, we want justice for the victim. We want to help victims of amnesia, restore them to a loving home. Our humanity wants help for the lost, and if we felt that we had anything to do with the disappearance, we would feel guilt and maybe even an obsessive need to discover the facts. I’d like to think that if I had been trapped or lost, that a ‘Tracy’ in my life would not have stopped looking.

Dugoni mentioned on Facebook that he is working on the sequel. Can’t wait! (It is now 15 months later, and happily for us, he has written more books in the series) 🙂

Read my review of “Wrongful Death” here.

Read my review of “The Conviction” here.

Please visit www.robertdugoni.com for more information about his work, his book signings, and the writing classes he conducts.

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“How the Light Gets In” by Louise Penny

2 Comments / Bestselling Author, Mystery

Louise Penny’s “How the Light Gets In,” is the ninth in her Armand Gamache series.

Respected, renowned, Chief Inspector Gamache is being marginalized. The stuff of legends has an enemy at the Surete du Quebec who wants him gone. Chief Superintendent Francoeur has gutted Gamache's entire homicide department and transferred loyal investigators elsewhere. Sullen, lazy strangers greet Gamache each day that he goes to the office. Even his trusted second in command for fifteen years, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, hates him and now works for the enemy. The rift appears to be permanent. But, why? What has caused Francoeur to create such chaos in what used to be the finest police force in Canada? What has happened to split the partnership of such a successful pair?

Gamache’s new second in command, Inspector Isabelle Lacoste, a loyal supporter, has trouble understanding his lack of action in front of subordinates when they disobey his directions. She despairs at his humiliation of being undermined. He asks her to trust him and to trust herself, but she doesn’t know if that’s possible when things have gone so far in the wrong direction.

When Gamache receives a note from an old friend in Three Pines needing his help, he travels there, as much to get away from the politics of the job as to help his friend. Her friend is missing and she needs advice in what to do.

The village of Three Pines is full of wacky, brilliant characters that support each other in good times and bad, despite their various quirks, or maybe because of them. (Warning: one of the characters uses strong language) And they have secrets. Who else would populate a place that is cut off from the outside world electronically? No internet, no cell phone, a true dead zone – a perfect place to hide from the ever intrusive outside world and its multimedia.

When a terrible secret from Francoeur’s past intersects with Gamache’s presence in Three Pines, Three Pines residents close ranks to protect their own as well as the trusted newcomers. There is more than one secret to be revealed in the book and they are whoppers. Gamache’s dogged investigation proves how evil some men can be and how long evil men can wait to pull off their plans – how far they will go to destroy others.

“How the Light Gets In” takes an insightful look at past mistakes and how we humans agonize in retrospect over difficult decisions. Should we have chosen differently? Given the circumstances, could we? If someone has failed us, but awful situations led him or her to that betrayal, should we blame them? Or forgive, even if their mistake ruined us?

Penny’s exploration of moral dilemmas that continue to haunt us until resolved, is woven effectively throughout the mysteries in “How the Light Gets In,” setting a serious, thoughtful tone to the book. There is plenty of action with parallel plotlines racing against time, but I found myself more interested in the people whose lives were affected by the drama. I worried about them and cheered Gamache on. It’s rare that I shed a tear during a mystery, but part of the storyline was tragic and I actually murmured out loud, “Oh, no…” at one point.

Penny revealed that each book was written as a stand-alone, but admits that the central characters have deeply developed arcs that will increase the readers’ enjoyment of the series. “How the Light Gets In” was an absorbing read for me, and I will go back and read others. One of Gamache’s profoundly personal old cases was alluded to (no plot spoiler here) and left me curious about the setup.

"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." You’ll have to read the book to find out the significance of those two lines. I have been repeating them for days.

Louise Penny’s Gamache series in order (some titles have two names – the publisher’s decision):

“Still Life”

“A Fatal Grace”/”Dead Cold”

“The Cruelest Month”

“A Rule Against Murder”/”The Murder Stone”

“The Brutal Telling”

“Bury Your Dead”

“A Trick of the Light”

“The Beautiful Mystery”

“How the Light Gets In”

“The Long Way Home”

Penny is the winner of the British Dagger, American Anthony, Macavity, Dilys, as well as five Agatha Awards. She has been translated into 25 languages.

For more information about Louise Penny and her work, please visit www.louisepenny.com

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“Kindness Goes Unpunished” by Craig Johnson

4 Comments / Mystery, Western

When considering “Kindness Goes Unpunished” for my next book to read and review, the fact that Craig Johnson included a road trip to Philadelphia cinched the decision for me. Philly may have the best cheese steak sandwiches in the world, and some great universities, but it also has a mean street or two. There’s a quote near the beginning of the book: "Philadelphia, where no good deed goes unpunished…” (Steve Lopez, The Philadelphia Inquirer) that sets the tone for the case in this third book in the Walt Longmire series.

“Kindness Goes Unpunished” opens with an elementary school classroom scene – Walt is doing his bit in a pre-election campaign stop. He is most comfortable chasing the bad guys and getting justice for the victims in fictional Absaroka County, but when he faces twenty-three 5 year olds, he is decidedly out of his element. Brutal questions and critiques about his reading-aloud skills strike fear in his heart, making him long for backup. It’s a LOL funny scene for any reader who works with young children and Johnson is pitch perfect with both the children and Longmire’s reactions.

Why would Walt leave the safety of Wyoming to visit Philadelphia, the supposed City of Brotherly Love? His best friend, Henry Standing Bear, has been asked to lecture about his collection of photographs at a prestigious Fine Arts Academy and Walt decides to tag along, visit his daughter, Cady, and get a look at the new boyfriend. Sounds much simpler than it turns out to be, because the first time Walt actually sees his daughter, she’s in intensive care at a Trauma Center.

The case central to the story is complex and dangerous, the bad guys are mean, arrogant and devious, the cover-ups clever, and we are not sure which people can be trusted. With Cady near death, Walt is pushed to the breaking point with worry. We feel the distress that a parent would have when facing the possible loss of a child, no matter how old that child is. His anger is palpable and he puts it to work to discover the multi-layered truth about Cady’s accident.

Vic Moretti, Longmire’s deputy, is from Philadelphia and her family wants to touch base with him and Cady during the visit. The Moretti crew is in law enforcement, and is readily supportive when things go south for the Wyoming contingent. The dynamic between Walt and Vic shifts in an interesting way after she arrives in town (in response to him being unreachable) and Walt’s mental reaction to that shift may be the best line quickly capturing a character’s feelings that I’ve read in a while.

Johnson continues to explore the human condition with the core characters in the series. Their frailties are understandable and their quirks believable, and they all have differing strengths upon which Walt relies. We ache as they struggle and cheer when they triumph.

We may not be in Wyoming for much of the book, but in “Kindness Goes Unpunished,” Johnson still places us in living, breathing surroundings. He nails the feel of the Philly neighborhoods, with their pubs and noise and people still on the street late at night. If you’ve ever visited Philadelphia, you will enjoy the many references to famous landmarks.

The "Longmire" TV show is no longer affiliated with the A&E television network (because of a shift in network policy) and as of this writing (September, 2014) is looking for a new home.

“It’s dangerous out there.”

Please check in at www.craigallenjohnson.com for information about the rest of the Longmire series of books, where you can catch Johnson out on the trail, and even a store that stocks Longmire goodies.

My review of Craig Johnson’s “The Cold Dish” can be read here.

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“Ransom River” by Meg Gardiner

Bestselling Author, Suspense, Thriller

In Meg Gardiner’s “Ransom River,” lawyer Rory Mackenzie reluctantly returns home to Ransom River, California, after funding for the charity for which she worked, dries up. There was no place else to go, but her memories of the people in the place she grew up still haunt her. And she immediately gets called to jury duty on a high profile case. Not a great start to her homecoming.

She is chosen as juror #7 and settles in for the duration, notebook in hand. From Rory’s point of view, the capital murder case looks like an easy win for the prosecution, given the obvious false testimony of the two police officers on trial for killing a teenaged burglar. (The officers were having an affair, the teenager broke into the house on a dare, and everything went south.) The jury is watching a crucial piece of evidence, a video of the shooting itself, when two men storm the courtroom and take everyone hostage. Shotguns are very convincing persuaders as the jurors and spectators are threatened into following orders, and the casualties mount.

The action rapidly unfolds and the hostages are rescued, but the question remains, what did the kidnappers want? Rory had tried to signal for help from the courtroom windows and becomes a suspect for her troubles. The cops have her in their sights, needing someone to pin the courtroom debacle on. Her skanky relatives show up, and add to her misery, feigning interest in her well being, but looking as if they want to cash in on her sudden fame. The dead teenager’s father, a local crime boss, thinks she knows more than she’s telling.

But, Rory doesn’t know what she knows, except that the past is encroaching on the present in ways that terrify her. Seth, her old boyfriend (childhood friend and a former cop) gets involved and he’s about the only hope she has for getting at the truth. Gardiner has created another strong, yet vulnerable, young woman in Rory Mackenzie – worthy of her own series of books, although “Ransom River” is a stand-alone – and Seth is a convincing complement to her.

There are a number of twists and jaw-dropping surprises in “Ransom River,” and several well-written, deliciously slithery characters. Old friends may not actually be friends and help comes from unexpected places.

If I mention which people truly gave me the creeps and made me wonder if I really wanted to read into the night – that would be telling. I quashed the creepy feeling and kept going. Gardiner has a knack for writing ‘stay-awake-reading’ and I did need to find out how Rory got out of each of her dangerous situations. The reason behind the courtroom drama is much more complex than it first appears, and the ensuing action is non-stop in this intense thriller, as greed rules the day.

I must say that Meg Gardiner’s “Ransom River” has an ending that will blow your mind. Hopeful and a little scary at the same time.

Read my review of Ms. Gardiner's "The Memory Collector," here.

Please visit www.meggardiner.com for more information about her recent book releases, awards and appearances.

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“Triple Witch” by Sarah Graves

Mystery

“Triple Witch” is the second book in Sarah Graves’ ‘Home Repair is Homicide’ series.

Jacobia (Jake) Tiptree is out for a walk on the beach on an island in Maine with her best pal and sometime employee, Ellie, and they happen upon a dead man. Yup, very dead with a bullet hole in his forehead. And the dead guy just happens to be Ellie’s former boyfriend, a local small-time crook, Kenny Mumford. It seems that one body isn’t enough as a crime spree breaks out, pointing to Kenny at its center. But what is the motive?

Soon, Jake’s island becomes a bit too crowded when a disgruntled ex-con former millionaire shows up, making her nervous since his incarceration was due in large part to her investigations while she was living a high-powered financier’s life on Wall Street. She ruined his life and he wasn’t happy about it. But, he was not supposed to know where she now lived. Will her past endanger her present life?

Add in a talented, but dyslexic teenage son, a hunky caring boyfriend, an ex-husband who follows her to the island in search of redemption and Jacobia’s life takes center stage, never mind the murder(s). Juggling the men and crime investigations means that repairs to her dilapidated coastal Maine house have to wait. But, the town must have a ‘thumbs up’ review in order to keep the tourists coming from the mainland. A promise to do her part with a much-needed shutter overhaul (the house looks bald without them) might do Jacobia in. Mix it all together and you’ve got the ingredients for serious fun in Eastport in “Triple Witch.”

Graves has created interesting, well-developed core characters for her series and the ones who frequent the edges as the plots unfold are always quirky – worthy of murderous intent and Jake’s scrutiny. Her writing/plotting is smart, with dialogue that rings true and internal homicidal thoughts about the obnoxious ex that are soooooo funny. She restrains herself for her son’s sake, but barely.

In each of the sixteen books in the series, we get instruction in how to recondition/repair plumbing or other essential pieces of the dwelling. In “Triple Witch,” we learn about shutters, and porch railings and how to repair a drainpipe with finesse – real information a DIYer can use. Since Graves herself lives in an old, renovated Maine house with her musician husband and a Labrador named Evelyn, we can safely assume that the remodeling details are based on actual experience.

Entertaining summer read with lots of wonderful descriptions of coastal Maine life.

Please visit www.sarahgraves.net for information about all of the books in this great series as well as scenic photos of Eastport, Maine.

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