Tag Archive | suspense

Edisto Jinx @hopeclark #southernlit #mystery #whodunit #edistojinx

I received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Edisto Jinx (The Edisto Island Mysteries)

Synopsis

Every August, it seems that a tourist falls prey to the Edisto Jinx. The locals are sympathetic but would rather Callie left well enough alone. While her friend says that the spirits are busy causing mischief, Callie is not convinced.

In a town that thrives on tourism, an investigation with the words “serial killer” in the mix makes all the town businesses nervous.

Whoever or whatever that is causing havoc in the community soon turns their attentions to Callie. Can she find out what is going on before it’s too late?

Opinion

C Hope Clark did it again! Great story. And unlike with the main character from the Lowcountry Bribe series, I love Callie!

Once a Boston city PD detective, Callie is still dealing with the loss of her husband, a teenage son more mature than his years, and the trauma she endured in the previous months (read Murder on Edisto). Meanwhile, she is having a difficult time ignoring what appear to be crimes happening in the community. It seems like the unfortunate death of a tourist is more than just an accident that should be dismissed casually. Callie trusts her gut feelings when no one else wants to even talk about it. The author Clark does a fabulous job creating such a multi-dimensional character that I could feel Callie’s angst and frustration.

The secondary and tertiary characters were painted just as effectively. Some of my favorites were

Seabrook, the reluctant sheriff, thinks that Callie is looking for problems. At what point will he take her seriously? If at all?
Alex is the young whipper-snapper journalist. She wants to make a name for herself in the community but will she have what it takes to step on the toes of town leaders and make some serious waves?
Sopie is the kooky, sage burning, self-proclaimed psychic and yoga instructor. She is so positive that it was almost nauseating. She believes in the spirits and cautions Callie against angering them. Can she burn enough sage to calm the spirits and bring harmony back to Edisto?

Overall, this story has the right mix of conflict between the characters as well as suspense. While I might not have liked all the characters, they were developed enough that I understood them as people. They seemed real to me. I could relate to them in the sense that I know people like them. I thought the story moved along at an even pace. Most importantly, all my questions were answered and the conclusion was satisfactory.

Should you buy? Yes! This is a great beach read with colorful characters and an engaging story line. It is the second in the series, but still a standalone book. The author does not give away much about the first book, but your interest will probably be whetted enough to want to buy Murder on Edisto too. And I am waiting for the next book to find out what else might happen in Edisto 😀

Amazon Product Details
File Size: 933 KB
Print Length: 294 pages
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (October 1, 2015)
Publication Date: October 1, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English

Lowcountry Bribe @hopeclark #southernlit #mystery #whodunit

Oct20

Lowcountry Bribe (A Carolina Slade Mystery Book 1)

Synopsis

Slade is a South Carolina Agriculture Department manager in the low country. She deals with handling loans to local farmers. When a farmer tries to bribe her, Slade follows rules on reporting, but things do not go as expected.

Wayne is a Federal investigator special agent assigned to the case.

The bribe was in the beginning and now it seems that Slade’s life is in danger. Together, they have to figure out how to eliminate the threat while dealing with governmental bureaucracy.

Opinion

I enjoyed this book for a 3 main reasons

1. It was fast paced. From the moment Slade was propositioned, there was some sort of action happening.

2. I knew a lot of the locations where the action was taking place. I am acquainted with the area because I go down to the low country area often to go to the beach and buy seafood. It made the story more realistic.

3. I could relate to some of the bureaucracy that Slade was up against. In the story, it seemed like an exercise in “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” And then it did.

It was hard for me to rate this story. I loved the plot but I cannot say that I liked Slade as a person. She was very brusque with a gruff, terse manner. However I did feel sorry for her. She tried to be a good wife, mother, and government employee. At the same time, she is an unhappy person. It seemed that everything she tried to do for the right reasons got twisted and things would go wrong.

Since I think that the author did not write Slade to be likable, I feel like I should give “points” for that. Times like this I wish I did half points. I think this is a solid 3.5. Since my rating does not have a 3.5, I gave this book 4 hearts.

I thought there was enough suspense, as I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was the mastermind behind the entire conspiracy. As the reader, I knew early in story who was the briber but you get the impression that he was not working on his own. The author wraps up the story in a way that satisfied my need for justice.

Notable quotes

“Rules were absolute; that’s the way I was raised. If I followed the rules, I’d be just fine.” – Slade

“Instinct told me to forget the conversation. Federal law told me I didn’t have that option.” – Slade

Should you buy? If you like suspense and thriller, you will like this. If you like Southern literature, especially novels that are set in the Low country, you will appreciate the references in this book even more. I am ready to read the next books in this series to see what else happens to Slade.

Book details from Goodreads
File Size: 1442 KB
Print Length: 274 pages
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (January 31, 2012)
Publication Date: January 31, 2012
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Book 1 of 3 in A Carolina Slade Mystery (3 Book Series)

Girl on the Train #thriller #suspense

Jul25

The Girl on the Train

Synopsis

Set in one of the towns outside of London, Rachel has lost her job but she still takes the train into the city every day as if she were still working. As she passes one particular house, she makes up a story about the couple who lives there and their idyllic life together. In her mind, this couple is happily married in stark contrast to her own failed marriage.

When Rachel sees something that she thinks is relevant to the disappearance of the wife of the couple she has been watching from the train, she tries to help in the only way she knows how.

Opinion

This is a thriller to the max. Some of the themes dealt with in this book: alcoholism, marital infidelity, domestic violence, and voyeurism. The story is told from 3 points of view: Rachel, Megan, and Anna.

None are particularly likable. Nor can they be trusted because they have warped views of reality.

In Rachel’s case, she is an alcoholic.

“It is as if people can see damage written all over me, can see it on my face.”

Megan and Anna are so self-absorbed and self-serving. They both liked being the center of attention.

“I miss being a mistress…I never felt guilty” – Anna

While I can say that I did not like Rachel, I did feel sorry for her. I think that Rachel inserts herself in the mystery of Megan’s disappearance because she wants to do something positive as if to prove her worth.

“Women are still only valued for 2 things – their looks and their role as mothers.”

Unfortunately, she is no Nancy Drew. When stressed, she drinks to dull the pain and ends up feeling worse than before. Oh Rachel! Let’s stay sober and focus!

This was a funny quote from the book –

“How much better life must have been for jealous drunks before email and texts and mobile phones.”

When I thought I figured out who did it, I had to read the last chapter to be sure I had it right. I need to do that for my sanity.

I did have some questions at the end that I thought were not fully explained.

I wish I knew why Anna was the way she was. Also, I would have liked to understand why Rachel was so obsessively in love with Tom.

Overall, I enjoyed Girl on the Train. Other reviewers said this book was similar to Gone Girl. If it has not been for my book club’s choice for the month, I would not have read it. If you liked Gone Girl, but HATED the ending like me, then this book is for you. The writing is similar. It is similar how the characters are portrayed and the emotions they evoke. The ending is way better. You will feel less angry.

In her shadow is a thriller

Mar5

In Her Shadow ♥♥♥

Synopsis
Claire Fiksen’s parents died on her birthday. She does not like celebrating her birthday because that was the day when she lost both of her parents. So when someone sends her a birthday cake in celebration, she knows someone is toying with her. She cannot understand why someone would intentionally be so cruel.

Meanwhile, the story jumps between Claire and another person who is being held captive.

Opinion:
For most of the book, I wondered how the two stories were going to come together.

What could Claire possibly have in common with this other person?

Additionally, there were parts of Claire’s story told from the point of view of the person who is intent on harming Claire. I was trying to figure out who this twisted person was as well.

With everything that is going on, Claire begins to question her own mental stability. She senses that looking for answers about the death of parents will help her to find peace of mind. The answers she finds will blow you away. With mysteries, I like to try to figure out who is the villain before the author reveals them. I could not guess what was going to happen before it happened. So I think what I am trying to say is that means August did a good job of creating a convincing end-of-my-seat thriller.

I do not usually read thrillers because I like happy endings. With thrillers and so much suspense, there is a chance that the author’s idea of a twist is that the ending will be a cliffhanger or some ironic situation that is frustrating. The ending for In Her Shadow was satisfying to me. When I finished the book, I was like

I was not prepared at all.

In Her Shadow is worth the read, especially if you like thrillers. The story seems disjointed at time because there are a lot of different elements at work. Keep patient and the ending will be worth the time spent.

Roll the Dice

Jan30

Roll the Dice: Book #2 (Hot Romance & Powerful Suspense – Vegas Series) ♥♥♥

This book picks up where Partners left off. Kai and Aurora have their individual reasons for catching the serial rapist. While they deal with the stress of knowing the monster is out there, they have to address their feelings toward each other. It becomes obvious that their friends are trying to set them up.

Kai does not think they have a future together. I did not totally agree with his logic. Aurora is putting on a tough girl act to hide the fact that she wants to be loved and start a family. I felt sorry for her. She has to pretend in public that she does not want the main thing she really desires to have. Kai is so perceptive to the real “her” that the potential commitment scares him.

I found this book under the genre of romance. As a romance, I found the story lacking an ending. It does not give any indication of the future of them as a couple. I would consider this to be more of an action suspense story with some romance elements.

I was relieved to know that the catch the rapist. By the end, I was wondering how many more victims would be defiled by this sicko before he was caught. I could not figure out if he was really good at staying two steps ahead of the police or were they inept. The ending was anticlimactic for me given the pace of the book. Others might find it satisfying though.

I guess the romance elements of Roll the Dice are truer to life than others because Kai and Aurora had so many personal demons to contend with in order to decide what they wanted to do. There was not a convenient set of circumstances that allowed for love to blossom for the couple. In the end, it was still seemingly undetermined what was going to happen. Coming to the end of the book was more like reading end of a chapter. I thought, “Really? She is going to end the book like that?” The author sucked me in so that I would be forced to buy the next installment. I do not like be sucked in for anything. I begrudgingly bought the next book so that I could see how their story ended.

Reader, take notice. This series of books is written in such a way that you have to read them in order AND read all of them to get the whole story. That is something I wish someone had told me before I chose the book.

If this sounds like something you would like, click any of the links to buy on Amazon.