Tag: serial killers

BONUS REVIEW: The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton

BONUS REVIEW: The Finders by Jeffrey B. Burton

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Mason “Mace” Reid trains cadaver dogs. And Elvira is his latest trainee. She survived a rough beginning to her life and has become a great HRD – Human Remains Detection dog. She’s bright, and she picked up the tasks quickly. It helps that Mace treats the training like games for his “kids,” the pups.

On Vira’s first real case, she finds the body in less than 2 minutes. And while she and Mace wait to make an official statement to the police, Vira zeroes in on a guy in the watching crowd – and she attacks. The guy is hospitalized for his injuries. And Vera is supposed to be put down. But Mace believes in her and believes there might be more to the guy she attacked. Mace has to investigate in order to save her life. That’s what she means to him. He’d sacrifice anything for her.

That’s what puts Mace on Everyman’s radar. He’d been loosely connected to that other case. He’d been almost mentoring the young sociopath involved. And when Mace ruins that situation, Everyman turns his attention to Mace – and his dogs – instead.

Review

I received an offer of a review copy of this book because of my love for the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt, another dog-related mystery/suspense series.  This felt darker, thanks to the serial killer angle, but there were similarities, too.

The dogs in this book are excellent. And the investigative work is as well. Vira is a more active part of the story here than Rosenfelt’s dogs tend to be, at least in the Andy Carpenter series. I got a kick out of the questions about Vira’s special skills. She’s pretty amazing!

The mystery here, while dark, was well executed (pardon the unintentional pun). There were a couple interesting twists to this, plus a side case to show off Vira’s gifts that was very clever. I would definitely read more books in this series to see what happens with Vira and Mace in the future.

Thriller fans, especially those who enjoy stories with dogs and/or law enforcement, should be sure to check this out. You could hand this to other Rosenfelt fans as well as fans of books like A Borrowing of Bones with other working/law enforcement dogs. (Language, including one use of the word “retarded.”)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

BONUS REVIEW: Broken Genius by Drew Murray

BONUS REVIEW: Broken Genius by Drew Murray

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Oceanview Publishing in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Will Parker was one deal away from becoming the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. But a tech error – maybe from the arrogance of youth or success, or from the distraction of his next big deal – leaves a young woman dead and Will yakking into a trashcan, overwhelmed with shame and disgust. He can barely focus on the fact that at that exact same moment an earthquake is about to destroy the business deal that would have changed not only Will’s life and company, but also the world.

So Will becomes a special agent with the FBI – his penance for what he feels was an egregious and inexcusable error. And his tech expertise sends him to the middle of Indiana to work with a Special Agent from Counter Intelligence on a murder at a small comic convention.

Why would a murder at a comic convention require someone from Counter Intelligence? Or someone from Cyber? Because the dead man was found with a radioactive case in his hotel room – an empty one. And the space inside is just right to be the tech that disappeared from Japan in the wake of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The tech Will was going to buy all those years ago.

Review

This was fantastic!! I loved this twisty, suspenseful mystery/thriller. Will Parker was the key to my enjoyment of this book. He’s smart and geeky. But he’s also good at his job for the FBI (even if he’s not a great shot).

There’s TONS going on here with the murder, dangerous tech up for bid on the dark web, kidnapping, and the convention, not to mention the ties to Will’s past and his ongoing guilt about what happened. It was all excellent. The layers to this reminded me of a David Rosenfelt mystery, but this is a more active story since it’s law enforcement rather than trial work.

I read several passages of this aloud to my husband because I was enjoying the story so much. Eventually he picked up  his phone and ordered a copy of the book. I know he’s going to love this one. Mystery/thriller/suspense fans, especially those who enjoy stories with law enforcement officers, should not miss this one. It was a delight to read. I hope there will be more Will Parker books in the future. (Language, violence, off-page sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Bad Blood by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

The Naturals series finale. It’s hard to summarize the final book in a series and not give something away from a previous book. Suffice it to say that Cassie and the Naturals are back, still using their “gifts” to pursue serial killers. Each of the Naturals are dealing with their own baggage in this one while it careens towards an ending that wraps up the one case that ties all of the books in this series together.

Naturals series finale

Review

I love this series because it is a perfect book for teens and young adults (and adults) who enjoy a great mystery and suspense story. And I am crazy about great mysteries!

I love the psychological aspects to the main characters and their cases. The characters are fascinating – deep, nuanced and flawed. They have evolved over the series into an interesting family of sorts. And each book in the series has given back story to Cassie and the other Naturals bit by bit, rounding out their history and explaining some of their “gifts.”

This book is darker than the first three. This was necessary for the story that’s being told in this one. I wish I had re-read the earlier books before starting this one so all the parts and characters were fresh in my mind. I think it would have added some depth to the story when past moments came up that I haven’t read in a long time. [If you aren’t familiar with this series, you HAVE to start with book one, The Naturals.]

While I would love to read more stories with these characters, the series arc was wrapped up well. Some great twists in this one keep me going back through the story in my mind.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥ ½