mystery

‘The Messengers: Greystone Secrets 3’ by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a middle grade scifi novel about bravery and what happens when people look the other way

/ Pamela Kramer / 1 Comment
The Messengers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Margaret Peterson Haddix completes the “Greystone Secrets” trilogy with the conclusion, “The Messengers.” Like many of her middle grade novels, this one has a clear message for young readers. It’s a message that teachers across the country echo: Be an upstander, not a bystander. In this trilogy, we see what happens when evil grows and people just look the other way, each hoping someone else will confront those who hope to control their country through lies and fear.

In the first book, the Greystone children discover that three children, with the same names and birthdays as they, were kidnapped. Then their mother leaves on a mysterious “business trip.” They must solve the cryptic and coded clues left by their mother to find out where she’s gone. This first book ends on a cliffhanger. It’s in this book that we first see a theme that is repeated throughout all three books: that siblings Emma, Chess, and Finn are stronger together and stronger through their love for each other. In the second book, they must go back to the alternate world that their parents were from, and where their mother has been imprisoned. They must save her. While this book has a satisfying conclusion, we know that the siblings are determined to help those left in a world that holds no hope for its residents.

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‘The Stills’ by Jess Montgomery is the next chapter about an intrepid female sheriff in Appalachia during Prohibition

/ Pamela Kramer
The Stills by Jess Montgomery

“The Stills” by Jess Montgomery continues the story of Sheriff Lily Ross, whom we first meet in “The Widows” and again in its sequel, “The Hollows.” Lily’s husband was the sheriff in Bronwyn County, Ohio, and after his murder, Lily is offered the opportunity to finish his term. She not only does that, she runs again for sheriff and is elected.

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‘A Stranger in Town’ is the newest Rockton novel by Kelley Armstrong in a thrilling series

/ Pamela Kramer

If you haven’t started the “Rockton” series by Kelley Armstrong, you are missing out on a wonderful detective series with a setting that is unique and that makes each mystery in the series much more than a typical whodunit. “A Stranger in Town” is the sixth book in the series, and Casey and Eric, the detective and the sheriff in this Northern Canadian, off-the-grid town of Rocton, made up of people hiding from something in their past, come across a woman who has been attacked and is in desperate need of medical care. Continue reading →

‘City Spies: Golden Gate’ by James Ponti is a perfect middle grade spy story

/ Pamela Kramer
City Spies: Golden Gate by James Ponti

“City Spies: Golden Gate” is the sequel to “City Spies,” and both middle grade action books will be loved by those who enjoy reading novels that are quick-paced, filled with interesting characters, and boast satisfying endings. This series doesn’t fail to entertain, and even readers who haven’t read the first book in the series will be able to start right in on the second book, although it’s more fun getting in on the ground floor, so to speak.

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Andy Carpenter Strikes Again….and Again

/ Pamela Kramer

“Silent Bite” is author David Rosenfelt’s twenty-second entry in the Andy Carpenter Mystery series, and it’s just as engaging and entertaining as the first twenty-one. I must admit that I’ve now read all twenty-two of them, and I still can’t help laughing out loud at the extraordinarily humorous phrases, sentences, and stories that grace virtually every page. As a matter of fact, LOL now has a home, and its name is Andy Carpenter. But the beauty of these novels lies in the simple realization that they’re both funny and suspenseful. And keeping readers in suspense while they laugh is, indeed, quite a feat.

In “Silent Bite,” attorney Andy’s client is Tony Birch, a former gang-banger who has served prison time because of a manslaughter charge of which he was wrongly accused and convicted. At his trial for that crime-that-wasn’t, two fellow gang members acted as eye-witnesses to his alleged crime, and their incriminating testimonies taken together were the coup-de-grace. Also during that trial, Tony had become so enraged at their fake testimony that he loudly threatened to kill one of them. Now, six years later, both of them have been murdered, and Tony is obviously the prime suspect even though he has straightened out his life in the intervening years and is now a respected small business owner. So Andy takes on his case, this time at the urging of one of his dear friends, Willie Miller, whom Andy had successfully defended in an earlier novel.

As always in these mysteries, Andy and his friends and crew are all sharp, tough, street-wise, and very funny. Each character continually either displays or is the object of Rosenfelt’s own unique sense of humor. Those characters, of course, include the ubiquitous canine pet/investigative assistants. One of them, for example, is the K9 partner of investigator Corey Douglas, whose team works for Andy. No spoilers here, so I won’t tell you the dog’s name, but here are a couple of hints: his initials are SG, and when he stretches (after a doggie-nap, for instance), he forms a virtual bridge over troubled waters.

So Andy and friends investigate; get themselves into all kinds of perilous, even life-threatening situations; patiently and doggedly (!) accumulate clues, and invariably take us on a roller-coaster ride of suspense and laughter. And even though every Andy Carpenter novel is a fascinating and complex mystery, there remains one thing we know for sure: when all is said and done, Andy Carpenter — and David Rosenfelt — will emerge as the winners every time.

‘Every Last Secret’ by A. R. Torre is a twisted tale of neighbors and infidelity

/ Pamela Kramer

every last secret

The title of A. R. Torre’s new release, “Every Last Secret,” gives a hint of what is to come. Secrets, more secrets, and even a few left for the very last chapter. It’s about a golden couple, Cat and William, who are living a life that only the very top one percent live. Their gated mansion is on a gated street, filled with staff who cater to their every whim. Cat tells us how her life changed after marrying William when she relates how he wouldn’t let her carry a box of personal belongings into their new home. He instructed her that they had staff to do that. Continue reading →

‘Goodnight Beautiful’ by Aimee Molloy is a stunning thriller that doesn’t fail to surprise

/ Pamela Kramer

goodnight beatiful

Many psychological thrillers have unreliable narrators and twists galore, but “Goodnight Beautiful” by Aimee Molloy only seems to have an unreliable narrator. In truth, it’s the reader’s assumptions that are unreliable. And in the first twist, we realize how completely we’ve been snookered.

The newlywed couple, Sam Statler and Annie Potter, move to upstate New York so that they can be close to Sam’s aging mother, who is in an assisted care facility. Sam grew up in Chestnut Hill. His mother was the school secretary and his father a teacher until he fell in love with an underwear model who also happened to be the heir to a fortune. Sam’s teenage years at the high school were spent as a player, sleeping his way through many of the teens in town.

Now he’s a respected therapist, and the beautiful town of Chestnut Hill has many clients eager for a psychologist of Sam’s caliber. While Annie is very capable in her own right, she doesn’t have a full schedule. She and Sam take turns visiting his mother each day, and it seems that their life together is idyllic.

However, Sam doesn’t realize that the air duct in his beautiful, newly remodeled office travels to an upstairs room where his conversations with his patients can be heard. The unhappy wives, the artist with the wandering eyes — and hands — all those private conversations are overheard. Also, he has made the egregious error of counting his chickens before they have hatched, and he’s spent a lot of money because he’s been counting on a huge sum of money he believes he will be getting. But hiding the outrageous bills from Annie is getting difficult, and worrying about money is causing Sam stress.

When Sam disappears, Annie is convinced that there’s been foul play. The chief of police is not so sure. And who’s been tipping off the journalists with information no one else should have had? Has Sam run off and left her like his father left his mother? Or is he in desperate need of rescue? Annie is determined to find out.

“Goodnight Beautiful” is a story that’s not just engrossing; we grow to really like Sam and Annie, and we want it to all work out for them. But Molloy masterfully creates cliffhanger after cliffhanger, and we keep reading and reading, intent on discovering how it will all turn out. The homage to another author of thrillers, perhaps the master of thrillers, is superb, but disclosing who would be a huge spoiler. This is one psychological thriller that will bring you an unusual measure of enjoyment. It’s a really lovely and well-put-together story that is qualitatively different from other psychological thrillers. Somehow, its effect may very well leave you feeling darn near joyful.

Review originally posted on Bookreporter.com.

‘I Hope You’re Listening’ by Tom Ryan is a thrilling YA story of abduction, guilt, and making amends

/ Pamela Kramer

In “I Hope You’re Listening” by Tom Ryan, main character Dee Skinner has never been able to shake her guilt over being the kid who wasn’t abducted. When she was seven, she and her best friend Sibby were playing near their tree fort when Sibby was abducted. And although Dee was right there, she was left behind, helpless, watching as her best friend was carried away by two men, never to be seen again. Continue reading →

‘Piece of My Heart’ is Mary Higgins Clark’s last book

/ Pamela Kramer

“Piece of My Heart” starts with a bang. A missing child, a postponed wedding, and a convicted murderer accusing her father of falsifying a confession — all these throw Laurie Moran, whose investigative television show “Under Suspicion” delves into unsolved crimes, into a frenzy of work and fear.

In this last book by Mary Higgins Clark, who passed away ten months before its publication, cowriter Alafair Burke offers a lovely tribute to the prolific and venerable author. It’s just one tribute of many, for Higgins Clark is known not just for her superb mysteries and her wonderful ability to create memorable characters; she is also remembered and loved for her kindness and her determination to give each book her very best efforts, and to engage with her readers even past the point when she needed to do so for publicity’s sake. Continue reading →

‘The Truth Hurts’ by Rebecca Reid is a psychological thriller with a Hitchcock-ian ending

/ Pamela Kramer

“The Truth Hurts” by Rebecca Reid is an apt title. In this novel, we learn the truth in clever dribs and drabs through the third person narration from the point of view of Poppy, the nanny who gets fired for sticking up for herself. Her narration is in the present, and we also hear from Caroline, who was Poppy’s employer once upon a time. She shares what happened before.

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‘Behind the Red Door’ by Megan Collins is a fascinating mystery with dark overtones

/ Pamela Kramer / Leave a comment

behind the red door

How much does our brain do to protect us? What repressed memories might surface one day with the right stimuli? In “Behind the Red Door,” author Megan Collins explores how childhood events can be suppressed, altered, misremembered, and deleted. Main character Fern Douglas is happily married to a fabulous pediatrician and she enjoys her job as a school social worker. She knows how to talk to kids, how to get them to admit to abusive living situations and how to help them understand it’s not their fault that they have abusive parents.

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