NetGalley – Page 21 – Carol's Notebook

The Inspector of Strange and Unexplained Deaths by Olivier Barde-Cabuçon

January 19, 2021February 18, 2021 by Carol6 Comments

The Inspector of Strange and Unexplained Deaths is the first in a series by Barde-Cabuçon, but it's the only one currently translated to English. Hopefully, they'll get around to the rest soon because I really enjoyed it. The story takes place in 1759 Paris, somewhere between the shiny halls of Versailles ruled by debauched Louis XV and his cohorts, and the dirty, dangerous hovels of Parisian suburbs inhabited by the desperately poor. The general population of Paris is seething with resentment, misery, and anger, on the brink of revolution, while the elites seem oblivious to both the inequity and the risks.On the streets of Paris, a horribly mutilated body of a young woman is discovered; the inquiry into her death quickly leads into dangerous territory – to the boudoirs of Versailles, where terminally bored Louis XV is mostly preoccupied with his newest sexual conquests. The detective who has taken on the case is Chevalier de Volnay, named the Inspector of...

Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg

January 4, 2021February 18, 2021 by Carol3 Comments

Bone Canyon takes off a few months after the end of Lost Hills, book one in the series. Since the second book builds on the first, I’d advise reading them in order. Eve has continued in the Homicide unit and still is partnered with Duncan, who reminds her at every juncture of his upcoming retirement. With that in mind, Duncan lets Eve take the lead on their case, a body that has been uncovered by recent wildfires in the Santa Monica area. The body has been there for years, but was clearly the victim of a murder. And we know that Eve is not one to give up on a case. Another body is found in the same area, so Eve and Duncan have a couple lines of investigation. As Eve uncovers more evidence, she finds information that may put her in danger and most definitely pits her against others in the Sheriff department. I love Duncan. Eve can be a...

Murder at the Gorge by Frances Evesham

November 24, 2020November 24, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

Murder at the Gorge is number seven in the series, but the first I've read. It worked well as a stand-alone, but I feel like I might have been more invested in the relationship between Max and Libby and their wedding preparations if I had read the series from the beginning. Max Ramshore, a former financial advisor, and his fiancée Libby Forest, a baker and chocolate maker, have formed a private investigation agency and are sometimes called upon by the police to assist in local inquiries. They met later in life, both having been married with families before, and now are looking forward to their wedding in a few weeks' time. Then Max gets a call from his ex-wife, who he hasn't talked to in years. She wants his help; she thinks she's being stalked. Of course, Max agrees to meet her at a local park and then, on his way back to his car, he finds a dead body....

Chaos by Iris Johansen

October 6, 2020October 6, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

It's been a long time since I've read any romantic suspense and I don't think I've read anything by Johansen before. Our main characters here are CIA agent Alisa Flynn and billionaire inventor Gabe Korgan. They both want to be in charge and while they bicker a lot, the attraction is clear. And that's one thing that sometimes annoys me about romantic suspense: we're in the grimy wilderness, desperate to stop the bad guy and save the teenage girls, but my mind just keeps going to sex. Really? As a couple, though, they're pretty good. They're both strong, a little short on trust, and long on independence. The bad guys are really awful human beings. The story is violent, with rapes and beatings, but not overly graphic. And while you know Alisa and Gabe will rescue the girls, even Sasha, Alisa's ward, the tension lies is how they'll do it and how much harm will be done to the girls...

Without a Brew by Ellie Alexander

October 1, 2020August 18, 2020 by CarolNo Comments

Sloan Krause and her business partner Garrett are ready to make their Nitro Brewery opening into a bed and breakfast. They plan on a soft opening, but things get out of hand when a lack of local hotel rooms means they end up with a full house. When one of the guests is discovered missing the following morning, and her room ransacked, Sloan immediately calls the police chief. With the guests as the prime suspects, Sloan must use her resources to find out what is going on, and keep the business thriving. I like while Sloan helps solve the mystery, she always lets the police take the lead. She serves as an extra set of eyes and ears, but always shares her information with the police chief. Sloan is good at listening and talking to people, which is how she picks up clues. The mystery was well done. There were several suspects and a couple of twists. Everything pulled together well...

One by One by Ruth Ware

September 3, 2020June 16, 2020 by Carol1 Comment

They keep comparing Ruth Ware to Agatha Christie, so I keep reading her books and keep getting a bit disappointed. I will say One by One is definitely better than the other two I've read, and I enjoyed it for the most part. The setting in One by One is perfect. The group is at a ski chalet but there's an avalanche that isolates them from the rest of the world. The electricity is out, there's not cell phone service, and the door has buckled with the weight of the snow. And one of them is dead after having taken a dangerous trail down the mountain just as everything was being shut down. And then another person dies, pretty clearly a murder this time. I love the claustrophobic feel of the whole situation and the pressure of not knowing who the killer is, just knowing you're stuck in the house with one. There are a lot of characters in the...