Book Reviews Archives — Mostly Mystery Reviews

09/25/202309/11/2023

As Long As I Breathe

As Long as I Breathe, by Garrett James, is a romance with thriller and mystery aspects. Stephanie Morgan and her daughter, Lilianne Rose (Lily), live as quiet a life as they can. Stephanie (Steph) works nights at a nursing home and at the local bar on weekends. Life was tough since her fiancé had died. Or was it murder? And why was Cole Miller, the sheriff’s brother, so bent on having Steph as his girlfriend?

Mason Cain, ex-military, ex-convict, moves back into his mother’s house after she dies. He’d planned to clear things up and quickly move on. But the best laid plans…Mason witnesses Cole dealing violently with Steph, who lives across the street. Inevitably, Mason becomes friends with Lily, then with Steph. Cole becomes even more erratic and irrational as he witnesses the growing feelings between Mason and Steph. How far will Cole go to keep Mason away from Steph, who Cole views as his property? How far will Mason go to protect “his girls”?

Mystery has always surrounded the death of Steph’s fiancé. Everyone has a good word to say about Matt Peterson, who seemed to have had no enemies. So, why is Agent Nick Canon, from the Division of Criminal Investigation, hanging around pursuing an inquiry into Matt’s death?

Mystery, resolution, anger, love, tenderness, psychological problems, all fall within the realm of As Long as I Breathe. Garrett James does well in uncovering emotions in his characters and develops them into living beings. Love and tenderness can turn around the lives of some characters, like Mason. But others, like Cole, have nowhere to go but into a burning hell of their own making.

I enjoyed As Long as I Breathe for the character and plot development. I felt connected to Mason, Steph, Lily, and even Nick Canon. Be prepared for well-done, but explicit, sex scenes. My only “thumbs down” was that this book could have used a good proofreading to fix some grammatical issues. Otherwise, bravo.

This appears to be the first in a series. I look forward to reading about the future lives of Mason, Steph, Lily, and Nick Canon.

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As Long as I Breathe
by Garrett James
©2022

09/18/202309/10/2023

The Leipfold Files

Third in the Leipfold Mysteries series, The Leipfold Files, by Dane Cobain, is a series of discreet, but connected, short stories. These stories mostly cover James Leipfold’s life prior to what’s recorded in Driven and The Tower Hill Terror (both of which I reviewed previously). However, a few stories cover cases occurring between those enacted in the prior books.

In these stories we learn how 14-year-old James Leipfold first meets novice policeman, Jack Cholmondeley. The reader learns why Leipfold no longer drinks and how he edged his way into becoming a private investigator. Leipfold’s assistant, Maile O’Hara, figures in the later stories in this collection. These stories occur in the time frame between the previous books. She gets no introduction here, under the assumption that the reader has read the previous tomes.

Some scenes covered in these stories have been referenced in previous books, such as the breaking and entering incident at the building housing Leipfold’s office. However, a bit more is added so that these instances are fleshed out. All in all, these stories round out James Leipold as a bit of an eccentric with a formidable memory. His ability to resolve problems makes his transition from jailbird to private investigator an almost foregone conclusion. Maile adds to the storyline with her in-depth knowledge of most computer-related things.

I enjoy the teetotalling, ginger-haired PI. So, I finished The Leipfold Files in two days. Hopefully, we’ll see more of Leipfold and Maile, his tech-savvy assistant, in future outings.

If you’d like a copy of The Leipfold files, click here. I receive a small commission when an item is purchased.

The Leipfold Files
by Dane Cobain
©2022
Encircle Publications

09/11/202309/11/2023

Trouble on Treasure Island

An easy-going romance-mystery, Trouble on Treasure Island: A Beach House Mystery is a lighthearted read with an undercurrent of sinister. Seth Sjostrom establishes the right tone for a mystery-romance set at a beach house on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Kate Harper, a well-to-do realtor, works for a real estate management company specializing in high-end rentals, mostly on beaches throughout the United States. As she inspects a house on Treasure Island near St. Petersburg, FL, her foot goes through a rotten board on one of the decks facing the ocean. A surfer using the beach access easement next to the property, comes to her aid. Turns out, he’s a handyman. So, Kate hires him. Nick Mason, the surfer-handyman, becomes friendly with Kate as she finds more jobs for him to do.

One night, Kate witnesses some unusual activity on the beach—two shadowy figures, one chasing the other—she hears a scream before the figures disappear along the shoreline. Kate exits the house to give chase but finds nothing but an engagement ring along the path the figures had taken. What follows is the discovery of Joann Marrs murdered further along the beach. The police investigation, with much input from Kate and a reluctant Nick, consumes the rest of the novel.

Lighthearted Romance-Mystery

I enjoyed this lighthearted read. Sharp-eyed and perceptive describe Kate. She easily interprets what she sees and hears concerning the murder and the police investigation. She puts herself out there to move the investigation along. Nick, it turns out, is a non-practicing lawyer as well as surfer and handyman. He is no slouch as a handyman, who can put together an intricate alarm system in the beach house for Kate. He’s a gentleman, who also knows the best local places to have great food. But he could be more well-rounded, not just a love interest for Kate.

And that’s another thing—to a large extent, Kate seems a little oblivious to the effect she’s having on Nick. Kate is also unaware of the effect she has on Detective Connolly, the policeman in charge of Joann Marrs’ murder investigation. All in all, more could be made of this emergent love triangle than what happens throughout the book. That might be a missed opportunity to ramp up the novel’s tension in a different direction.

Another potential shortcoming is that it takes about one-third of the book before it begins to ramp up. The beginning encompasses a lot of stealthy, creeping intruders who slink around Kate’s beach house, but don’t do much to move the plot along. Nor do they create the brooding atmosphere for which Sjostrom strove.

Sjostrom does do a great job of characterizing Frank Driscoll. Driscoll, a private investigator hired by someone in Charleston with an interest in the murder of Joann Marrs. Assigned to keep an eye on Kate, Driscoll uses various not very effective disguises to do so. He adds a delightful air to the mystery.

All things considered, Trouble on Treasure Island: A Beach House Mystery is a great romp on the gulf coast. The scenery, the restaurants, the marinas and the house at the center of this mystery all delight the reader as do the main characters: Kate Harper, Nick Mason and Detective Connolly.

If you want to purchase a copy of this book, click here. I receive a small commission if this product is purchased.

I received a copy of Trouble on Treasure Island: A Beach House Mystery and gave a fair review.

Trouble on Treasure Island: A Beach House Mystery
by Seth Sjostrom
© 2023
wolfprintMedia, LLC

08/30/202308/31/2023

Sherlock Holmes Audiobook

As you all know, I’m a diehard Sherlock Holmes fan. Whether the original canon or modern versions, I love the gas lights and foggy London streets of Victorian and Edwardian London. So, I’ve just come across an audiobook version of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Simon Prebble narrates this audiobook–one of my favorite voice artists. Mr. Prebble narrated quite a few audiobooks that I’ve enjoyed over the years.

The stories in this audiobook take the reader back to London and the timeless duo of Holmes and Watson as envisioned by Doyle, the author of the illustrious and long-lived detective duo. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes presents such well-known stories such as “A Scandal in Bohemia” in which Holmes is bested by Irene Adler. “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” in which a rather dilapidated bowler hat and a fat goose figure rather prominently. In “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches” Holmes’ client crops her luxuriant auburn hair short as part of her new job as a governess. Why? These stories and more entice the reader onwards on the heels of Holmes and Watson.

You can pick up The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Download as a digital download.

I receive a small commission for any purchases made via the above link.

08/14/202308/07/2023

The Further Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Caiden Cooper Myles strikes the absolutely correct tone in The Further Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Miles’s prose rolls smoothly along—highlighting gas-lit, foggy London streets as well as the firelight in the sitting room of that famous duo—Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. The reader can see the yellow, swirling fog with gas lamps glowing dimly without casting much light.

In “The Adventure of the Sinister Correspondent,” coded messages under stamps reminds me of “The Adventure of the Dancing Men” in that secret coded messages portend problems for the recipient. “The Problem of Hazelwood Grange” reminds me of The Hound of the Baskervilles in that Holmes sends Watson in his place to help gather clues, view the scene of the crime, and report back to Holmes. Watson purports himself well in this story. He is a well-drawn character in this story, as well as the rest of the tales. “The Adventure of the Drury Lane Pawnbroker” brings to mind “The Red-Headed League” because it deals with pawnbrokers and the misappropriation or mishandling of money. “The Adventure of the Naval Architect” recalls “The Adventure of the Naval Treaty.” Both involve stolen military secrets.

The author of these further adventures strikes the right note with both Holmes and Watson’s characterization. Watson always has an eye for women, as, in “The Adventure of the Braden Park Bench,” Watson notes, “She had dark hair, bright blue eyes, and an air of confidence beyond her years. I was immediately struck by her beauty.” On the other hand, Holmes stands as a more intellectual plateau in the same story about Braden Park. For example, “Mid-morning the following day, Holmes and I found ourselves in Amberley. It was a charming village which appealed to me but it did not appeal to my friend whose love of Mother Nature was largely limited to her poisons.”

Illustrations in this anthology are not the best. The frontispiece illustration before “The Adventure of the Sinister Correspondent” has Holmes in a too-small puffy chair . A puffy, gummy bear chair that looks like it will swallow him.

Caiden Cooper Myles demonstrates a knowledge of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes canon. I mentioned a few similarities between Myles’ stories anthologized in The Further Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and Doyle’s stories. Similarities may exist for the other stories as well. But significant time has elapsed since I’ve read the original Holmes canon for me to be forgetful. These similarities in no way detract from Myles’ stories themselves or of my enjoyment of them. In fact, the faint similarities enhanced my appreciation of Myles’ writing style. Myles takes his version of Holmes and Watson in a new direction, including some modernizations such as Holmes’ use of a telephone. Myles’ stories are in no way derivative. They stand alone, a well-done addition to the contemporary Holmes canon.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Click if you wish to purchase The Further Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. I receive a small commission if a purchase is made.

07/24/202307/23/2023

Two Lists

In Two Lists, Malcom “Mal” Winters and his close friend, V. N. “Vinn” Atchison, confront a series of bizarre murders. Staged crime scenes laugh at them, daring them to connect the dots. And solve the crimes before someone else is murdered. Oddly, the murders seem to follow two lists created in the psychology field about those who would be most, and least, likely to commit murder. With each murder, props meticulously set the stage that indicate two different careers. And all the suspects congregate at Puzzlers Anonymous. What is it with that, anyway?

Mal and Vinn move as fast as they can with the help of Rebecca and Leo, Mal’s tenants. But not fast enough. Among the victims – their young friend, Maggie, the journalism student.

Mal and Vinn’s mounting frustration is sharply depicted in this latest from Thomas J. Thorson. When Mal and Vinn must take justice into their own hands, how will they react? Will they kill again, like in their previous lives? Even for justice? As Mal says, “it’s a slippery slope…Over time, your become immune to the emotional effect of holding a knife to someone’s throat or putting a gun to her head, and it becomes easier each time to follow through. At some point you actually begin to relish the rush…”

Also, see my reviews of Thorson’s previous Mal Winters books: Bad Fortune, The Cosmic Killings, The Connubial Corpse, and Heirs Apparent.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Get a copy of Two Lists by Thomas Thorson.

(I receive a small commission if you purchase the book using the above link.)

Two Lists
by Thomas J. Thorson
© 2023
Thorshammer Books

07/03/202307/01/2023

Coastal Conspiracy

Do you have a favorite place, or places, to visit? I have a few. One of them is the Delmarva peninsula, which forms the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Don Rich‘s Coastal Conspiracy is set in the portion of Virginia that forms the tail and tip of the Delmarva peninsula. This is an area where fish and crabs rule.

With Rich’s descriptions in Coastal Conspiracy (the first book in the series), I can see the charter boats and skipjacks. And taste the crab cakes and soft-shelled crabs. And hear the back-and-forth banter between the group of friends that make up the characters in the series.

In Coastal Conspiracy, Michael “Murph” Murphy and his girlfriend, Lindsay Davis, plan to purchase a run-down marina in Virginia, near the southern tip of the Delmarva peninsula, or Eastern Shore Virginia (ESVA) as this portion is known. Their plans are small because of a lack of enough funds to do an extensive expansion. When Casey Shaw, Murph’s friend, and a real estate investor, hears about the project, he is all in and uses his resources and his staff’s knowledge to greatly enhance the extent of the project.

When Bill Cooper, Marlin Denton, Kim Collier, and Timmy O’Shea, charter boat captains who currently lease slips at the marina, hear of the extended plans, they get nervous. That is until someone tries to stop the purchase and renovation. Even to the point of trying to kill Murph and Lindsay. The captains, along with Casey and Dawn Shaw, jump into action. Who is behind the violence, and why?

Straightforward prose enlivens the action in this series debut. Action scenes and scenes on the Chesapeake thrum with spot-on descriptions. I will definitely read further into the Coastal Adventure Series.

Traversing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel has been a goal of mine for a while. When I, one day, actually do travel across the bridge, I will always think of the characters in this series.

06/26/202306/25/2023

The Honey in the Bones

Caroline Mellor‘s The Honey in the Bones is fantastic, exquisite. Her poems hum and sing and whisper in your ear and heart. Mellor partitions her poems in this collection into seasons of the year as well as earthly directions and elements. Rightly so.

Her poetic sense makes much of the earth’s seasons and weather and draws the reader along “soft and slow/as each breath/follows the last,” through the earth’s daily and seasonal tides and cycles. She invites the reader into a comfortable space where you can “tend the ember glow/of your soul’s hearth.” The poem, “Changing Sky, December 31, 2020,” recalls to mind that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Crocuses, birdsong, weather, light, birth—these are all related in Mellor’s vision.

Mellor makes various allusions to gardening regarding many things, including life. “Let my life/be an overgrown/garden:/gloriously messy/and lightly tended/with love.” Yes, mine, too.

In “Imbolc,” Mellor speaks about building bridges: “Give me the silent crescent moon rising over the sea and I will build/you a bridge of light so you can walk across and lie down in it.” To me, Mellor’s poetry is a bridge to a life of serenity and beauty.

The Honey in the Bones is Mellor’s first poetry collection. Living in the United Kingdom, besides being a poet, Mellor is a writer of essays and creative nonfiction. I can hardly wait for her second poetry collection. This first magnificent collection left me a fan.

06/12/202306/11/2023

The Tower Hill Terror

Book 2 in Dane Cobain‘s Leipfold Mysteries series cuts to the chase, or the bone in this case. The Tower Hill Terror grabbed me from the first sentence. Mutilated corpses appear during Leipfold and O’Hara’s surveillance of Jayne Lipton, a suspect in a previous case. (See my review of Driven.) As the bodies mount up, James Leipfold and his assistant, Maile O’Hara, chase clues on social media and dating apps. Their friend, Jack Cholmondeley, rips his hair out, figuratively, as pressure mounts on the police to solve the crime.

Why is a serial killer cutting off the genitals of his/her victims? That’s one of the monumental questions that Leipfold and O’Hara must figure out. When they finally do, the answer helps lead them closer to the solution. But, will they be in time to save Kat Cotteril, O’Hara’s roommate, from the same fate as the other victims?

Cobain’s main characters are well-rounded people who add substance to the plot. James Leipfold is a down-on-his-luck private investigator. He makes strides to turn his life around in each book within this series. Maile O’Hara, a computer-savvy twenty-something, advances in learning the private-investigation field. Jack Cholmondeley is a smart chief inspector of police at the height, and end, of his career.

The Tower Hill Terror was enjoyable. I look forward to reading more about these folks in any upcoming additions to the Leipfold Mysteries series.

05/26/2023

She Who Rides Horses

She Who Rides Horses: A Saga of the Ancient Steppes, by Sarah V. Barnes, is a wonderful addition to the fictional literature genre dealing with prehistoric human conditions. This novel imagines how groups of humans might have lived on the Eurasian steppes millennia ago. While following a clan of nomadic herders/hunter-gathers, mention is also made of permanent settlements of farmers and stone cutters with whom the nomads trade.

Naya, daughter of the clan chief, interacts with a small herd of horses. Does she have special powers to communicate with animals and possibly the spirit world? When out on the steppe by herself, an arrow shot by a foreigner hits Naya in the back. This event changes the course of many in the novel.

She Who Rides Horses is first rate. Barnes’ concise prose creates perceptive scenes of that long-ago world. From interpersonal family relations, to politics within the clan, to collaborations with strangers, all facets of this era are incredibly drawn by Barnes.

On a par wit, or even surpassing, Jean M. Auel’s Earth Children series, Barnes has fashioned a real winner with this book. I look forward to reading further books in this series.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.