August and September Good Reads

I’ve been on a tremendous writing roll over the past two months and my fourth rural thriller is now with my early readers for their feedback, which is admittedly always exciting and a bit nerve-racking! Though busy writing, I have enjoyed several good crime reads that you might like to check out.

Disclaimer:
Being a crime fiction addict and lover of series books, expect lots of my reading to fall into these categories. You can also expect to only hear about the books I have enjoyed – but as I have honed my selections to my tastes over the years, I am rarely disappointed, and I get that reading enjoyment is subjective anyway. I love to jump over to Goodreads and share the books I’ve enjoyed with the reading community, and this led me to posting my standouts in a “Good Reads” column each month.

Snowblind (Monkeewrench #4) PJ Tracy – 4.0 stars
Minneapolis has been waiting for snow, but when it finally comes, it comes down with a vengeance, added with the grisly surprise of two bodies hidden inside two snowmen discovered in a whole park of them, in front of a crowd of kids and parents. The victims are two men. Two cops. Then two more bodies are found in snowmen in different parts of the US and detectives Gino and Magozzi are desperate to discover a link between the deceased and work out how to stop the murderer…or murderers. When one of the snowman-bodies is found in a small town up north, first-day-on-the-job local Sheriff Iris Rikker is out her league. Rikker and the detectives soon realise there is far more to this murder spree than first thought. My first read of this author and series. Snow Blind had good pace and held my interest throughout.

My Husband’s Son (standalone) Deborah O’Connor – 3.5–4 stars
My Husband’s Son was an intriguing one. A grabbing premise and interesting moral dilemma based around “You’d always recognise your own son. Wouldn’t you?” The story centres around Heidi and Jason, respectively a mother whose daughter was murdered six years ago and a father whose son has been missing for some five years. Their grief has both brought them together as a couple, and pushes them apart when Heidi meets a boy she’s certain is her husband Jason’s son, while Jason is equally convinced it’s not. Heidi follows her heart, risking everything for the truth, while Jason seems to be scrambling to keep secrets hidden. Everything is crumbling, one thing keeping Heidi grounded – her daughter’s favourite thing, an antique compass. But strangely, that highlights for me Heidi’s strange moral compass and the things she does along the way that sit uncomfortably with me. Not necessarily a bad outcome for a story. The prose was a little flowery in parts, but overall a good read.

Good Girl, Bad Girl (Cyrus Haven #1) Michael Robotham – 5 stars
It’s a psychological thriller by the amazing talent that is Michael Robotham, and it is the beginning of a new series starring an intriguing forensic psychologist, Cyrus Haven, set in the UK. I probably don’t need to say any more, do I? But if you want to know a little more, there are two interwoven storylines in Good Girl, Bad Girl with Cyrus in the middle of both. Evie, a young woman seemingly with a special ability to know when someone is lying, with a shocking past and no identity. Jodie, a figure-skating sweetheart murdered close to her home, with plenty of secrets herself. Cyrus is called in professionally on both cases—two girls, one who needs saving and the other who needs justice—but of course, it becomes personal and dangerous. I’m ready for the next instalment now.

Cross Her Heart (standalone) Sarah Pinborough – 4.5 stars
In the mood for a psych thriller, Cross Her Heart delivered. Lisa is a woman that lives for her daughter Ava, her job, and her best friend Marilyn. She’s hiding from something, or someone, but just starting to believe she can let her guard down and that perhaps the interest she’s feeling for and receiving from a dashing client could turn into something great. Then Ava rescues a boy from drowning and their pictures hit the news. In a flash, it’s not Ava that everyone is interested in anymore. Lisa’s world implodes and things only get much worse, with nobody she can trust. With some good twists and pace, and characters—particularly Lisa, Marilyn and Ava—that I invested in, Cross Her Heart hit the mark.

Dirt (Stone Barrington #2) Stuart Woods – 3.5–4 stars
The title Dirt gives strong hints as to what the story is about: blackmail, murder, suspense, love and lust. Although the story kicks off with Amanda Dart caught in a compromising situation, particularly awkward as her job is to expose the dirty secrets of the who’s who of New York, Dirt isn’t a 50 Shades (not that I’ve read it). Bed-hopping is a theme that continues through the story, as the gossipmongers that expose Amanda Dart’s secret in a fax sent to everyone that matters don’t stop there. And When Dart enlists ex-cop, now lawyer and private investigator Stone Barrington to identify and stop the perps, plenty of action and lots more dirty secrets come to the fore. These crooks are determined and dangerous, also suspected of murder and poor Stone ends up in some dangerous situations as he draws in on them. Dirt was a good read for a pick-me-up while throwing off my bug. Bit of fun.

My read-in-progress is Trust Me by Jeff Abbott and I’m enjoying it so far. Looking forward to more great crime reads and sharing them with you again soon. Meanwhile, happy reading!