Head In The Sand by Damien Boyd


Head In The Sand by Damien Boyd
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer Publishers
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

The discovery of a severed head in a golf course bunker triggers a frantic race to find a serial killer that brings the town of Burnham-on-Sea to a standstill.

A connection is made with a series of unsolved murders harking back to the 1970s, and Detective Inspector Nick Dixon finds himself caught in a race against time that takes him the length and breadth of the country.

The brutal killing of an elderly man raises the stakes and, as he closes in, Dixon begins to question whether he is chasing one serial killer or two.

DI Nick Dixon has his lazy Sunday morning interrupted by a phone call, a severed head has been found in 12th holes bunker at the local golf club. What follows is an increasingly complicated mystery where the bodies – and body parts – begins to increase at an alarming rate. Can Dixon and his colleagues solve the connection between the victims and top the killer?

I found this to be a really interesting and well-paced story. While it’s the second book in the DI Nick Dixon series I feel it can easily be read as a standalone. The characters and their connections are very well explained without a huge amount of info-dumping or rehashing their histories so I feel readers should easily be able to follow along and enjoy the story on its own merits. I also really enjoyed how this is very much a British police procedural style of story – with a clear murder mystery plot and a good number of suspects and twists in the storyline.

I also thought the author did a very good job of balancing the action in this story with investigation and understandable police work. It’s very clear to my mind that the author has a solid grasp of police practices and the fundamental steps inherent to any investigation and this shines through the story and makes it a real pleasure to read. Readers on the lookout for a solid, well-paced but logical and realistic murder mystery should find this book as enjoyable as I did.

A good and engrossing read, I really enjoyed this book and will be eagerly looking for the next in the series.

Wolf Point by Ian K. Smith


Wolf Point by Ian K. Smith
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

A Cadillac, a pistol, and a corpse make for another morning in Chicago. The body belongs to Walter Griffin, a prominent Black Chicagoan insider hailing from the city’s West Side. He ascended to the upper echelons of the mayor’s office only to meet his end in a watery grave at Wolf Point. Forensics finds his prints on the gun; it’s ruled a suicide.

But grizzled private investigator Ashe Cayne knows better.

Griffin’s children plead with a reluctant Ashe to hunt their father’s killer. They know their dad wouldn’t have taken his own life without a goodbye. And Ashe knows this town’s dark secrets often mean murder is not too far away.

Ashe decides to take on the case and navigate a city rotting with corruption, racial tensions, and sketchy backroom deals. On the bleak streets of Chicago, it’s every man for himself—and that makes everyone a suspect.

A great suspense read with a great main character. If you like well-crafted Private Investigator characters, Ashe Cayne is it. He’s practical and tough and he does what he has to in order to get things done.

I loved this Chicago setting and if you have ever been there, you would really love some of the description. The plot swirls around a city known for its beauty and for its corruption.

There are quite a few characters in this story, but I didn’t have any trouble keeping them straight. I think it’s because this is an author that is extremely detail oriented. Describing his characters or better said, painting a picture of them, makes them clearly identifiable while reading. After all, this author is a doctor who has written a wildly popular two book series and also one who has some diet books that have great reviews. From one type of detail to another. Seems he is as good at describing food detail as he is creating a great character in a suspenseful thriller. I sure hope Ashe Cayne shows up in a third book.

As The Crow Flies by Damien Boyd


As The Crow Flies by Damien Boyd
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer, Seattle
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Rock climbers can’t afford to make careless mistakes. But Detective Inspector Nick Dixon’s former climbing partner, Jake Fayter, died doing just that. Or so it seems. Dixon suspects foul play, but his only leads are unreliable accounts of something odd happening in Cheddar Gorge seconds before Jake fell.

The more Dixon learns about Jake’s life, the more he realises that Jake hadn’t been quite the man he remembered…and a lot of people could have wanted him dead. Once Dixon gets too close to the truth, those people will emerge from the shadows and kill to protect their secrets.

As the body count rises, Dixon bends the rules to breaking point to lure out a killer and unravel a conspiracy of silence that will rock the sleepy town of Burnham-on-Sea to its core.

It had been a number of years since DI Nick Dixon had been actively participating in the rock-climbing community, but he still had a number of good friends there and he kept in touch with their adventures online. When his old climbing partner and still very good friend dies in what appears to be an accident Nick can’t turn down his friend’s parents when they plea for Nick to help supply some answers. Jake had been a professional for many years and it seems incredibly unlikely that he made such a rookie mistake as tying an incorrect knot. But the more Nick digs into the case, the murkier everything becomes.

This is a completely new-to-me author, and I am so very glad I found this book and new series. Before I was halfway through this book, I had already ordered the second and I am very much looking forward to reading more. I thought this was a gripping and quite freshly different style of novel and story. The rock-climbing aspect to it was utterly new to me and while the author adds a good balance of technical detail (his knowledge and research is very clear from the outset) it also doesn’t get bogged down by too much data and the pace of the story moved along at what I felt was a good clip.

I enjoyed the main characters and definitely felt the author wrote this story really well. I was attached and intrigued by the characters but still found them realistic and relatable. The pace of the mystery was good – fast enough that I wasn’t bored or skipping pages, but slow enough I could actually catch everything and didn’t feel like I was racing along too fast to take everything in. For a first novel I felt this was a really good quality and standard and I am definitely eager to read more.

While in many ways this is a regular police procedural style of story, I feel enough different energy is present with both the interesting characters and in particular the rock-climbing element that this should appeal to readers as something a bit more than “just another British-inspector-murder-mystery” style of story. I certainly am pleased I gave this a shot and feel many other mystery/suspense readers will likely feel the same. Best of all this is the start of a decent length series so I have plenty more books to look forward to into the future. Recommended.

Can’t Go Back by Debra Webb


Can’t Go Back by Debra Webb
Devlin & Falco Book 3
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Ginger

Birmingham detectives Kerri Devlin and Luke Falco arrive at the scene of a double homicide to discover that nothing makes sense. A woman and her child are dead, and though the husband says he killed them, the evidence says otherwise. Why would a man confess to unspeakable murders he didn’t commit?

What starts as an open-and-shut case explodes into a web of new leads. Devlin and Falco get to work tracking down every single one—including a disturbing connection between the murders and Falco’s dark past.

Falco knows the incident from eight years ago will jeopardize the partnership he’s built with Devlin, both on and off the job. If he could go back, he would—but what happened happened, and there’s a murderer on the loose. Devlin and Falco must slog through the pain to get to the truth; and so far the only truth they know is that everyone is lying.

Can’t Go Back is an unpredictable suspense with a fast-moving plot that kept my attention. It includes strong, well-developed characters, good and bad guys, romance, police cover ups, obsession, family drama and murder. It’s a balance that gives the readers an authentic story. Book #3 in the Devlin & Falco Series can be read as a stand-alone. I haven’t read the first two books and followed the story and characters with no problem.

There’s a lot of story going on, however the author delivers it with her special skill and talent for entertaining and telling a story. The book opens with a woman and her child found dead from a house fire and the husband admitting to the crime. Detective Luke Falco is still dealing with the incident from eight years ago and it could ruin the current relationship with his partner Kerri Devlin. There are family issues, but the author puts everything in its place and gives the characters life by adding in such vibrant personal details.

The story is told from various characters’ points of view. The author fills the plot with action, heartache from loss and two qualified detectives that are working hard to solve the double murder of the mother and daughter.

The ending revealed a skillful unique twist that I didn’t see coming. I wanted justice for the families and the author delivered that and so much more. It was upsetting that everyone appeared to be withholding information and everyone looked guilty but as it turns out that’s exactly how the author devised it. I’m sure readers will continuously question whodunnit as they continue to read to see what happens next in the case.

A good read that I would highly recommend to readers that enjoy a well-developed murder suspense that doesn’t end in a cliff-hanger.

Her Name is Knight by Yasmin Angoe


Her Name is Knight by Yasmin Angoe
Nena Knight series, book 1
Publisher: Thomas and Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Action/Adventure, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Stolen from her Ghanaian village as a child, Nena Knight has plenty of motives to kill. Now an elite assassin for a powerful business syndicate called the Tribe, she gets plenty of chances.

But while on assignment in Miami, Nena ends up saving a life, not taking one. She emerges from the experience a changed woman, finally hopeful for a life beyond rage and revenge. Tasked with killing a man she’s come to respect, Nena struggles to reconcile her loyalty to the Tribe with her new purpose.

Meanwhile, she learns a new Tribe council member is the same man who razed her village, murdered her family, and sold her into captivity. Nena can’t resist the temptation of vengeance―and she doesn’t want to. Before she can reclaim her life, she must leverage everything she was and everything she is to take him down and end the cycle of bloodshed for good.

She’s beautiful and she’s dangerous, but she’s the one you want on your side when you need a heroine.

This is the first book by Yasmin Angoe and while at times it reads like an initial novel, it’s still gripping. I read this over the course of a few days and while there were moments I could put it down, I needed to know what would happen next.

Nena is a complicated figure. She’s been through a lot. As in, there are a lot of triggers that might upset some readers, the violence, the killing, the abuse…it’s not pretty and can be a bit extreme, but it’s the life she’s lived through. I have to admit the violence was a bit much for me, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be too much for other readers. Just be warned.

I liked how Nena grew and changed through this book. The author took what could’ve been the standard assassin trope and made it fresh. I’m not heavy into thriller books, but this one satisfied me.

If you’re looking for a heroine that’s out of the norm in the best way, who has a past and isn’t afraid to face it and a story that’s packed with action, then this might be the book for you.

Black Coral by Andrew Mayne


Black Coral by Andrew Mayne
Underwater Investigation Unit Book 2
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Sloan McPherson and the Underwater Investigation Unit have discovered a van at the bottom of a murky Florida pond. Sealed inside the watery tomb are the bodies of four teenagers who disappeared thirty years ago after leaving a rock concert. To authorities, it looks like a tragic accident. To Sloan, it looks like murder. Every piece of evidence is starting to connect to a string of cold case vanishings throughout Florida. Clue by clue, Sloan navigates the warm, dark waters where natural predators feed, knowing that the most dangerous one is still above the surface—nesting and dormant.
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But when a fresh young kill is found in the Everglades, Sloan fears that her investigation has reawakened a monster. How can she catch someone who’s a genius at hiding in plain sight? By acting as prey. The dangerous gambit is working—only too well. She’s being lured into a deception of the madman’s own design. Has Sloan set a trap for a serial killer? Or has he set one for her?

She wasn’t in the water for this, but when Sloan McPherson discovers a van at the bottom of Pond 65, she knows there’s more to it than just an abandonment. When the bodies of four missing teens are found inside, she begins to wonder if it’s murder. What she doesn’t realize is that the killer might still be out there, tracking and killing those who least expect it. What’s the Underwater Investigation Unit going to do? Hand over the case or investigate it themselves?

Sloan McPherson is one of the most self-aware characters I’ve come across. She does stupid things and while she sometimes blames it on her pirate father, she almost always owns up to her idiocy. I adore this, because it means that she has the potential to not make those mistakes again. Her relationship with her daughter, Jackie, is great as well. She tries to be the best mom she can, even when she flops, and I think Jackie knows it, too. Overall, Sloan is tough, smart, and willing to take chances, even if they’re going to get her into trouble in the long run. She makes for an interesting and complex character and is the reason why I was so eager to get my hands on this book.

In this novel, Sloan gets a new partner named Scott Hughes. I always worry when a new person is introduced because they either suddenly become a love interest or an antagonist. Thankfully, Hughes is neither. He’s former Navy who came from another department to join the UIU with Sloan and George Solar, their boss. He’s funny, he’s smart, and he’s very loyal to Sloan and her case. I’d almost want to see them become love interests but the fact that Hughes is happily married, and Sloan is happily… something… with Run gives me reason to be content with them just being work buddies. However, they have a great chemistry and I loved how they worked together.

The uniqueness of an Underwater Investigation Unit is what initially drew me to this series. Growing up in the desert, the Everglades, ponds, and canals of Florida are something I know nothing about. Never mind the gators! Also, the team of Sloan and George, now featuring Scott Hughes, is great. They have a wonderful working relationship, even if Sloan was wary of him at first. Engrossing, complicated cases mixed with an intriguing cast of characters and I’m sold. Now, I’m anxiously awaiting to see where the UIU goes next.

Final Judgment by Marcia Clark


Final Judgment by Marcia Clark
Samantha Brinkman series, book 4
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Action/Adventure, Mystery/Suspense, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (415 pgs)
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

When it comes to relationships and self-preservation, defense attorney Samantha Brinkman has always been cut and run. But it’s different with her new lover, Niko, an ambitious and globally famous entrepreneur. Sam is putting her faith in him. She has to. He’s also her new client—a suspect in the murder of an investor whose shady dealings turned Niko’s good life upside down.

He had the motive: revenge. As did many others who banked a fortune on the wrong man. That’s a point in Niko’s favor. So is his alibi for the day of the slaying. Until that alibi mysteriously disappears. As Sam’s feverish search for another viable killer begins, the investigation only leads deeper into Niko’s past and its secrets.
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From the darkest suspicions to final judgment, fighting for Niko is Sam’s job. To do it, she must risk everything on a man who could make all her worst fears come true.

Fast paced!

I didn’t realize Marcia Clark, yep, that Marcia Clark had written so many novels. I remember her as the prosecutor in the case of the century. So I had to pick this book up. I’m glad I did. The writing flows well and kept me interested throughout. I hadn’t read the others in this series, but Sam Brinkman is an intense character. The ending satisfied and I’m interested in reading the other books in this series.

Sam is a crack legal mind. She knows her stuff and is tenacious. Her boyfriend is in trouble, his mother’s been scammed and the world sure looks bleak–all seemingly because Sam took a vacation. Crazy, huh?

There are a couple of plot points throughout this story and the author does a good job of weaving them together. It seemed a bit odd and almost too easy when some of the pieces seemed to fall into Sam’s lap. She also has a tendency to skew the lines when it comes to staying totally legal. That said, it showed her tenacity. The author also manages to blur the lines, too. Things aren’t black and white in life and neither are they in this book. I rather liked that the author kept the plot human in that respect.

If you’re looking for something in the vein of John Grisham or Scott Turow, this might not be what you’re wanting, but if you’re willing to take this book on it’s own merits–and I highly suggest you do–then you won’t be disappointed. A gripping read. Recommended.

A Cold Trail by Robert Dugoni


A Cold Trail by Robert Dugoni
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Mystery/Suspense, Contemporary
Length: Full length (355 pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

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Dan is drawn into representing a local merchant whose business is jeopardized by the town’s revitalization. And Tracy is urged by the local PD to put her own skills to work on a new case: the brutal murder of a police officer’s wife and local reporter who was investigating a cold-case slaying of a young woman. As Tracy’s and Dan’s cases crisscross, Tracy’s trail becomes dangerous. It’s stirring up her own haunted past and a decades-old conspiracy in Cedar Grove that has erupted in murder. Getting to the truth is all that matters. But what’s Tracy willing to risk as a killer gets closer to her and threatens everyone she loves?

I sure didn’t put this one down very often. It’s the first book I’ve read in the Tracy Crosswhite series. It’s Book 7, and I was never lost. Oh, I could tell things had happened previously in Tracy’s life that weren’t explained in detail, but I don’t think there was one thing that made me feel I was in the dark in this book. I’m not sure how an author writes a continuing series; contains a whole new story in a book; gives you a sense of background and doesn’t go over and over trying to explain what happened before but…Dugoni did it here.

So my previous paragraph probably made it clear I enjoyed this book. I liked all of the characters. Tracy and her husband and their occasional taut relationship and I enjoyed the sense of motherhood weaving in and out. Dugoni built a great sense of tension and danger in his story. He made you worry about Tracy’s daughter Daniella, even about her friends and family. I immediately liked her old chief, Cal and their friends Faz & Vera, even their nanny, Therese. Good grief I’ve listed all of the main characters. I suppose that shows what distinct personalities Dugoni gave them.

As I mentioned, this is book 7 in the series. I’m not one to often go backward in a series but this seems as if it might be worth it. However, I noticed Bugoni has another series or two and I hope he’s writing Book 8 of this one as we speak.

Punishment by Scott J. Holliday


Punishment by Scott J. Holliday
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (235 pages)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Do you want to know what it’s like to die, to kill, to really fear for your life? Then get hooked…

Detroit-based homicide detective John Barnes has seen it all—literally. Thanks to a technologically advanced machine, detectives have access to the memories of the living, the dying, and the recently dead. But extracting victims’ experiences firsthand and personally reliving everything up to the final, brutal moments of their lives—the sights, the sounds, the scents, the pain—is also the punishment reserved for the criminals themselves.
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Barnes has had enough. Enough of the memories that aren’t his. Enough of the horror. Enough of the voices inside his head that were never meant to take root…until a masked serial killer known as Calavera strikes a little too close to home.

Now, with Calavera on the loose, Barnes is ready to reconnect, risking his life—and his sanity. Because in the mind of this serial killer, there is one secret even Barnes has yet to see…

What if you could sell your memories so that others could experience them? Better yet, what if your final moments were caught on tape in a way that could help solve your own murder? Wonder no longer because that’s exactly what’s happening in Detroit thanks to an invention simply known as the machine. Step back, Detective John Barnes is on the case – and in your mind.

Detective John Barnes isn’t your ordinary law enforcement officer. He actually has a very special skill – he’s well versed in the uses of The Machine – making him more in-demand than other homicide detectives in Detroit. He’s literally seen – and experienced – it all. Barnes’ use of the machine, for both his personal reasons as well as his professional ones, makes for a very interesting character. Once he’s used the machine, the memories never really leave him. They taunt him, the coerce him, they even try to help him sometimes. Often, he feels like he’s losing his mind, but honestly, I think he copes well considering all he’s endured.

The idea of a machine that can extract memories from a person is fascinating to me. Of course, there are those who use the machine for pleasurable pursuits, but that’s only natural. Who wouldn’t want to step into the shoes of their favorite celebrity, athlete, or musician? But the application it was used for in the book – to see the last moments of a homicide victim’s life – is revolutionary. Calavera fascinated me as well. Between the poems and the sugar skull mask, he wasn’t quite like anything I had encountered before.

The author did an excellent job of bringing the idea to life and I’m eager to see what Barnes and his fellow officers get up to in the sequel. As someone who reads a lot of crime fiction and police procedurals, Punishment definitely was something new and exciting and I’m anxious for more.

Cold Harbor by Matthew FitzSimmons


Cold Harbor by Matthew FitzSimmons
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full length (318 pages)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

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As old enemies and once-trusted allies resurface, the architects of a murderous conspiracy will beat a sinister path to Gibson’s doorstep. In discovering the shocking truth about those he thought he knew best, only one thing is certain: those responsible must be made to answer…and pay.

Gibson Vaughn’s having a rough day. After months in solitary confinement, Gibson’s released and dumped into a world he no longer recognizes. Things have changed and not all for the best. Will he be able to put the missing pieces back together before he goes completely off the deep end? Or with the long days in solitary win out in the end?

Gibson is an unusual sort of character. He’s very likable in that you can relate to his struggles with his ex-wife and daughter, plus all the loss he’s suffered prior to the story starting. You can also tell that, despite the fact he’s been used and abused by the government, he wants to do the right thing. However, sometimes he doesn’t always take the best course of action, or even the legal one. But it all factors into his complex personality. His hallucinations of his father and Bear only endeared him to me more. All of his good qualities work together to balance out some of the underhanded and illegal choices he makes during the course of the story. In some situations, he has no other choice.

Cold Harbor was an engaging and exciting thriller. Although I tend to shy away from such overly political and military based novels, the author did an excellent job of balancing out the technical with the rest of the story. I never felt bogged down by things I didn’t understand or didn’t care to know. I did feel lost for most of the novel, however, since I hadn’t read the two in the series beforehand. If you are planning on reading Cold Harbor, I definitely suggest you start at the beginning with The Short Drop. I’m planning on rereading this as soon as I’ve read the others in the series.