Review: The Chestnut Man

The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From comments, I expected serious gore, even splatterpunk. But although it has gore (and certain revelations later on that may be psychological triggers), it wasn't nearly as extreme as I expected or as the reader's hook seemed to indicate. A plethora of character building and evolution (and devolution) and an enormously twisted mystery provided quite the entertainment and kept me in suspense throughout. This is fine Scandinavian Noir indeed.

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Review: The Fourth Monkey

The Fourth Monkey by J.D. Barker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My original read of this Mystery was August 2017; I gave it 3 Stars but did not pen a review. I've just reread it (August 2019) to get the foundation for the two sequels: THE FIFTH TO DIE (release August 2018) and SIXTH WICKED CHILD (Release August 2019). On this rereading I've adjusted my reading to 4 stars. I enjoyed the humor, and the Abbott & Costello near-slapstick shenanigans of Detectives Nash and Norton; I admired protagonist Detective Sam Porter. The secondary villains, those whom the Fourth Monkey Killer targeted by destroying loved ones, were, of course, despicable. I admired secondary heroine Emory. But by far my favourite part was reading 4MK's "Diary" along with Detective Porter: that was a psychological tour de force!

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Review: The Whisper Man

The Whisper Man by Alex North
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lately I seem to be "reading a theme." Though not consciously intentional, much of what I've read lately has dealt with crimes against children. So too, THE WHISPER MAN, with its foundation of murders of children occurring two decades ago, resulting in the killer's capture and imprisonment; and now, a new child abduction, clearly not by the incarcerated earlier killer. Is it in honor of his exploits, or opposed?


This novel also carries a strong foundational theme of Fathers and Sons, exemplified in several instances, and I think that perhaps this is the stronger and more powerful of these two foci, even overshadowing the theme of child murder.




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Review: Come and Get Me

Come and Get Me by August Norman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

COME AND GET ME is an exciting, tautly organized thriller of suspense and mystery which strums the chords of many essential contemporary issues, including campus sexual abuse and widespread rape culture, drug use, abuse, and sales, the free press vs. Law enforcement, and psychological issues as well. I found myself vicariously living the story, which provided tons of tension and emotional ups-and-downs as I hung on through a gloriously wild and twisty tide. Not a book to forget.

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Review: The Haunting of Beacon Hill

The Haunting of Beacon Hill by Ambrose Ibsen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So happy this is the beginning of a new series by Ambrose Ibsen, an author I really enjoy, as THE HAUNTING OF BEACON HILL was super scary! From the first scenario to the gory, tragic, and unexpected conclusion, I was riveted (and terrified!) Not much worse than being targeted and sought by The Other Side, as mid-twenties' local librarian Sadie discovers. Anticipating the return of Sadie and fellow librarian/best friend August in the next installment; soon, I hope!

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Review: The Girl From Paradise Hill

The Girl From Paradise Hill by Susan Lund
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a convoluted mystery, involving multiple individuals, over so many decades! I became so caught up in this story that I am eager to read Books 2 and 3 in this trilogy. In a tiny town in Washington State, three young girls disappeared over decades, and five others disappeared from surrounding towns and counties. Tess McClintock, a former resident, returns from Seattle to prepare her newly deceased father's house for sale. A crime reporter, she also works to investigate cold cases of missing persons. Michael Carter is an FBI Special Agent on leave after a horrendous child abduction case. Both Tess and Michael were strongly affected by the disappearance of a local girl when they were young. Tess uncovers horrifying evidence that her late father hoarded, resulting in someone stalking and assaulting her, but that's only the beginning of the unspeakable revelations.

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Review: Watermelon Snow: A Cli-Fi Novel

Watermelon Snow: A Cli-Fi Novel by William A. Liggett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I decided to read WATERMELON SNOW because it's Climate Fiction, it involves Glaciers, and it's set in Washington State. I was elated to discover a tremendously exciting thriller, with lots of science, glaciology, paleontology, and prehistory. There's also a plethora of taut suspense and tension, and realistic human emotions and interactions. I read this in just a few hours, and you can believe I was metaphorically racing through the pages. It's great as a novel and it would be a fantastic film too, with engaging scenery, danger and chills, and romance and interpersonal conflicts.

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Review: The Haunted Mine

The Haunted Mine by Carrie Bates
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

HAUNTED MINE is a scary yet heartwarming novella, scary for the predation of human greed and cupidity as much as for supernatural haunts. Ghosts, after all, have unfinished business too, and that's not always to frighten: sometimes it's to love.

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Review: The Dozier School for Boys: Forensics, Survivors, and a Painful Past

The Dozier School for Boys: Forensics, Survivors, and a Painful Past by Elizabeth A Murray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Reading this non-fiction narative of the horrible long-lived "reform school" in Northern Florida once known as the Florida Industrial School was a stomach-churning experience, rendered all the more horrifying knowing that this wasn't a fictional work of extreme horror or "splatterpunk." This was 111 years of utter horror, humiliation, degradation, slavery, and rape, inflicted on children. It's impossible not to weep copious tears while reading, despite the author's calm and factual narrative.

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Review: Now You See Me

Now You See Me by Jean Bedford
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

NOW YOU SEE ME is a work of literary erotic noir horror, not for the faint of heart or the sensitive who are easily offended (in addition to murder, there is also serious and horrifying child abuse). Set in Australia, enterprising journalists, a therapist, and a killer with terrifying secrets interact, as the long-term effects of early environmental horror destroy heart, soul, empathy, and compassion.

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Review: Now You See Me

Now You See Me by Jean Bedford
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

NOW YOU SEE ME is a work of literary erotic noir horror, not for the faint of heart or the sensitive who are easily offended (in addition to murder, there is also serious and horrifying child abuse). Set in Australia, enterprising journalists, a therapist, and a killer with terrifying secrets interact, as the long-term effects of early environmental horror destroy heart, soul, empathy, and compassion.

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Review: Now You See Me: A Novel

Now You See Me: A Novel by Chris McGeorge
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was definitely "glued to the page " with this rampantly suspenseful English mystery. Who doesn't love Locked Room Mysteries, or some variation? This one is outdoors, in a Canal Tunnel, and what seems the sheer impossibility boggles the mind and inspires the brain to work diligently at deciphering the puzzle, even questioning whether a sort of Lovecraftian Portal was involved.


Six plus a terrier enter the Tunnel; one unconscious plus s terrier exit. No other way out, no drowned corpses, no evidence, no clues.

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Review: Fire Lake

Fire Lake by J.C. Paulson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A journalist and a police detective sergeant in Saskatoon, Grace and Adam, are taking a short trip to a lake in scenic Northwestern Saskatchewan, Canada. Learning a suspicious stranger in the cabins area alerts their interest, intensifies their drive to discover who and what is behind arson and danger.


FIRE LAKE is #3 in the Adam and Grace series of Romantic Suspense. I read this novel for the Canadian Challenge (Canadian setting, Canadian characters). Contains descriptions of physical intimacy and romance.

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Review: The Hidden Lives of Jack the Ripper's Victims

The Hidden Lives of Jack the Ripper's Victims by Robert Hume
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

History often likes to play righteous and forget that the women destroyed by "Jack the Ripper" were real individuals, not just stereotypes or sensationalist corpses. This highly-detailed account uncovers the biographies of these victims, illustrating that economics drove them to act as they did. Reiterating that these women were not low in intellect nor deficient in moral value, but constrained by economic reality to struggle to survive, they are seen as doubly victimized: mirdered brutally, then blamed for their lifestyle choices. This narrative offers a fresh new perspective.

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Review: The Hidden Lives of Jack the Ripper's Victims

The Hidden Lives of Jack the Ripper's Victims by Robert Hume
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

History often likes to play righteous and forget that the women destroyed by "Jack the Ripper" were real individuals, not just stereotypes or sensationalist corpses. This highly-detailed account uncovers the biographies of these victims, illustrating that economics drove them to act as they did. Reiterating that these women were not low in intellect nor deficient in moral value, but constrained by economic reality to struggle to survive, they are seen as doubly victimized: mirdered brutally, then blamed for their lifestyle choices. This narrative offers a fresh new perspective.

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Review: Abandoned: A Ghost Story

Abandoned: A Ghost Story by Carol McMahon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Scary! Feckless protagonist meets more and more trouble...that's only mildly scary, that this poor well-meaning young woman can't get her life straight, choosing the wrong guys, getting homeless, low on funds....


The really scary is how in a 16,000 word short story, which I foolishly read AT NIGHT, the author manages to tap so many of my phobias! More than once I tried to stop, thinking I would return in the daytime--but my eyes wouldn't turn away and my brain wouldn't stop digesting the scares....the very real, terrifying, perceptions and events.

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Review: A Killing Fire

A Killing Fire by Faye Snowden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Detective Raven Burns lived through a childhood no one should suffer: at five her father brutally murdered her mother, later her stepmother and many in between, using Raven as both distraction and as a magnet to attract victims. After a stellar several years in the New Orleans Police Department, she returns to small-town Louisiana as a Detective, summoning her NOPD partner as well (who just wants to leave law enforcement and open his own restaurant).


Raven can never eradicate her past-- or her murderous parent--from her psyche and an inexplicable death (How? Who? Why? Is it murder?) teases out clues referencing her father, long since executed on California's Death Row. Raven walks a fine line between revealing and concealing her own secreys, new evidence, and her growing suspicions of those she has trusted, till her mind is a pressure cooker roiling and primed to erupt.

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Review: A Killing Fire

A Killing Fire by Faye Snowden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Detective Raven Burns lived through a childhood no one should suffer: at five her father brutally murdered her mother, later her stepmother and many in between, using Raven as both distraction and as a magnet to attract victims. After a stellar several years in the New Orleans Police Department, she returns to small-town Louisiana as a Detective, summoning her NOPD partner as well (who just wants to leave law enforcement and open his own restaurant).


Raven can never eradicate her past-- or her murderous parent--from her psyche and an inexplicable death (How? Who? Why? Is it murder?) teases out clues referencing her father, long since executed on California's Death Row. Raven walks a fine line between revealing and concealing her own secreys, new evidence, and her growing suspicions of those she has trusted, till her mind is a pressure cooker roiling and primed to erupt.

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Review: A Killing Fire

A Killing Fire by Faye Snowden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Detective Raven Burns lived through a childhood no one should suffer: at five her father brutally murdered her mother, later her stepmother and many in between, using Raven as both distraction and as a magnet to attract victims. After a stellar several years in the New Orleans Police Department, she returns to small-town Louisiana as a Detective, summoning her NOPD partner as well (who just wants to leave law enforcement and open his own restaurant).


Raven can never eradicate her past-- or her murderous parent--from her psyche and an inexplicable death (How? Who? Why? Is it murder?) teases out clues referencing her father, long since executed on California's Death Row. Raven walks a fine line between revealing and concealing her own secreys, new evidence, and her growing suspicions of those she has trusted, till her mind is a pressure cooker roiling and primed to erupt.

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Review: Combustion

Combustion by Martin J. Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

COMBUSTION is a heart-in-mouth, can't-catch-your-breath thriller, as human evil and psychosis combine with the ravages of Nature. Well-developed characters, realistic plot threads, reasonable character evolution'--and that Wildfire! Quite suspenseful and frequently scary! I found it especially poignant in view of last year's California wildfire ravages.

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Review: Combustible Punch

Combustible Punch by Paul Michael Peters
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

At first glance, the premise of this novel seems unlikely, almost ludicrous. An adult, survivor of a high school shooting several years ago, "coincidentally" encounters a serial killer--a female serial killer, a sort of self-styled "avenging angel." What are the odds?!


But as I read on, the unfolding of these two unlikely adversaries made more and more sense. Rick Phillips, adjunct professor of writing at a prestigious Virginia university, author of one highly acclaimed book, eleven years ago. Harriet Bristol Wheeler, cold-eyed and cold-hearted, exhibitionist, always planning, 4 or 5 steps ahead of the opposition. Rick, feckless hero that he is, comes to see Harriet and the biography she demands he write, as his sole light in the darkness. This book will redeem him.


Their "acquaintance" bears all the hallmarks of an imminent train wreck. I can hear the brakes squeal, metal clamping against metal, whistle shrieking warning, passengers screaming. Yes, lucky Rick Phillips survived the angry predations of the shooter at his high school, but will he survive the machinations of the Machiavellian, Black-Widowish Harriet Bristol Wheeler?

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Review: Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories

Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories by Ellen Datlow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

ECHOES is a top-of-the-line Anthology of Ghost Stories (all new except for three classic reprints) as curated by the inimitable anthologist and editor Ellen Datlow. She has superbly accomplished this collection. Every single story frightened me, made me ponder more deeply, inspired me to check out all these authors (30 in total)....and left me with nightmares and disturbed sleep. I love Ghost stories more than any other type, so I'm in hog heaven reading ECHOES.

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Review: This Poison Will Remain

This Poison Will Remain by Fred Vargas
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

High praise for this superb French police procedural/mystery! A mark of how excellent it is, is that I read it totally engrossed despite the fact that I am a lifelong arachnophobe and will scream at even a photo of a spider. Yet I immediately became totally involved in the story despite that there were numerous recountings of incidents that would normally be triggers for me. I found this novel so intriguing that I am determined to catch up with the series. What an involved character is Commissionaire Adamsberg of Paris' 13th Arrondissement! Yet, the secondary characters--his squad, numerous crime victims past and present, villains, others on the near periphery of events--are equally complex and intriguing.

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Review: Demons at War: Urban Fantasy

Demons at War: Urban Fantasy by P.A. Minyard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A gentle and inspiring novel set during the horrible tragedy of the American Civil War, literally an ongoing battle between Good and Evil, in the Cosmic sense. Two brothers are both called upon to sacrifice all, not just for country, but to combat demons guised as humans.

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Review: Diverse Similarity

Diverse Similarity by Sharon Rose
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A winning combination of well-written and engaging "hard science" and heart, this science fiction novel presents a strong female protagonist with moral integrity and values, with whom readers can readily identify, along with an engrossing plot and wonderfully executed world building.

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Review: Diverse Similarity

Diverse Similarity by Sharon Rose
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A winning combination of well-written and engaging "hard science" and heart, this science fiction novel presents a strong female protagonist with moral integrity and values, with whom readers can readily identify, along with an engrossing plot and wonderfully executed world building.

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Review: IQ

IQ by Joe Ide
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what took me so long to read IQ, but now that I have, I'm eager to race through the series. (Book 2-RIGHTEOUS; Book 3--WRECKED; Book 4-Jan. 2020 release) Isaiah Quintabe (the eponymous IQ) is a protagonist with whom I can strongly identify, despite our external circumstantial divergences. Quite an intellect, Isaiah (like his brother Marcus, himself an admirable character) also has a deep heart and an abundance of empathy. He is also attuned to his senses and in fact his olfactory ability is highly developed and proves essential in his case-solving.


The author thoroughly develops the milieu, a multicultural and divergent one which perhaps has not received enough fictional attention. The story is utterly riveting, a thriller with true heart.

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Review: Ghoster

Ghoster by Jason Arnopp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The imagery in this novel is truly different and delightful, as is the subtle humor. The protagonist, though, spins an entirely new illustration to the definition of "feckless." She trashes her smartphone and clings to an old-fashioned Nokia in order to wean herself from a bad case of social media addiction. She "meets" a guy online, then in real life, falls for him despite his odd and elusive (read: suspicious) behavior, then jumps at the opportunity to move in with him, 265 miles distant from home and job. But he gives her no keys, no entrycode to the apartment building, no response to her knocks on his door. For this she has abandoned her flat and her job. Reading this novel is akin to watching two trains on the same track, one passenger and one freight, each running 100 mph, and simply waiting for the inevitable "irrestible force meets immovable object" conclusion. You just know the outcome is going to be deathly, but you can't stop watching.

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Review: The Leaden Heart

The Leaden Heart by Chris Nickson
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

THE LEADEN HEART is #7 in the excellent historical series whose protagonist is a Leeds, England, Superintendent of Police at the end of the 19th century--the late Victorian Era. Harper is a man of sound and strong character and high moral integrity and his wifs Annabelle is a Guardian of the Law who tends to women and children living in poverty or worse. Leeds is a prosperous municipality, but that prosperity is confined to a small minority while a majority are poverty-stricken and even the middle-class must struggle. The suicide of a former colleague and friend lead Harper to discover an ugly conspiracy propelled by greed and cupidity.

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Review: State of Lies

State of Lies by Siri Mitchell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

STATE OF LIES is a remarkably engrossing political/military/governmental/domestic thriller. Yes, all those categories! I could not break away. This novel is a conspiracy theorist's dream landscape, because what is better than a conspiracy come true? Events in this powerfully impacting story prove the slogan of The X-Files: "TRUST NO ONE." Really, how well can you ever know your friends, colleagues, or family. Sociopathy wears many guises, as does psychosis, and doing wrong things for the right reasons. I seldom view a book as movie potential, but in this case I can see the appeal as film or mini-series.

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Review: State of Lies

State of Lies by Siri Mitchell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

STATE OF LIES is a remarkably engrossing political/military/governmental/domestic thriller. Yes, all those categories! I could not break away. This novel is a conspiracy theorist's dream landscape, because what is better than a conspiracy come true? Events in this powerfully impacting story prove the slogan of The X-Files: "TRUST NO ONE." Really, how well can you ever know your friends, colleagues, or family. Sociopathy wears many guises, as does psychosis, and doing wrong things for the right reasons. I seldom view a book as movie potential, but in this case I can see the appeal as film or mini-series.

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Review: State of Lies

State of Lies by Siri Mitchell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

STATE OF LIES is a remarkably engrossing political/military/governmental/domestic thriller. Yes, all those categories! I could not break away. This novel is a conspiracy theorist's dream landscape, because what is better than a conspiracy come true? Events in this powerfully impacting story prove the slogan of The X-Files: "TRUST NO ONE." Really, how well can you ever know your friends, colleagues, or family. Sociopathy wears many guises, as does psychosis, and doing wrong things for the right reasons. I seldom view a book as movie potential, but in this case I can see the appeal as film or mini-series.

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Review: Before We Were Yours

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Historical/contemporary fiction that will tear at your heart, BEFORE WE WERE YOURS is sadly grounded in historical accuracy. Like Colson Whitehead's THE NICKEL BOYS, an ugly historical era is here the basis for a moving story of trauma and success, of the true core strength at the heart of Family, and of the lengths to which some individuals are compelled to satisfy cupidity, greed, and lust for power and control when the end is seen to justify the remains. Suffused with imagery the reader wants to pause to savor, this is a frighteningly realistic work of historical literary fiction.

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Review: Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Are You Afraid of the Dark? by Seth C. Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? Is the new second novel from Seth C. Adams, author of IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE WOODS. ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? is a stunner: deep and deeply involving, heartwrenching yet ultimately, deeply satisfying to the soul. At any given moment I could not be certain what would come next, so I was nearly as om edge as protagonist Reggie. Simultaneously coming of age in the kind of way we would wish on no one, and a marvel of remarkable character evolution, this is a definite re-read. The author excellently grasps the psychology of his characters. An unforgettable story.

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Review: A Stranger on the Beach

A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

STRANGER ON THE BEACH in a character way reminded me of Caroline Kepnes' YOU, a novel in which I despised and despaired of both protagonist and antagonist. Here, too, the antagonist both repelled and terrified me; and I felt the protagonist often acted foolishly, and although I am not going to engage in "victim-bashing" or "she asked for it," still: foolish behavior is irresponsible and when it involves an abuser or worse, foolishness is downright dangerous. All that glitters is not gold; and smooth talk may conceal a cobra. Buyer, beware. Wealth and society can't protect from all ills.

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Review: Ghost Hampton

Ghost Hampton by Ken McGorry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

GHOST HAMPTON was sheer nonstop delight! The characters were wonderful to meet and watch--very realistic--and the character evolution which the protagonist, Lyle Hall, progressed through is magnificently performed. I admire the interweaving of paranormal elements with the very human frailties of greed and lust and drive for power, and the balancing of history (1880-1910, and late 18th century till 1827) with the very real contemporary Internet-driven "reality tv" culture. Human nature really doesn't change, but individuals CAN overcome. That's the very best aspect of this excellent novel.

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Review: Wales: The Most Important People, Places, and Events That Shaped the History of Wales

Wales: The Most Important People, Places, and Events That Shaped the History of Wales by Isabel Knowles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another lifelong dream, as with England, is Wales, a country with a fascinating history, its own language, gorgeous scenery, and a locale where it seems the past is always nearby, waiting to be explored. I learned much and am encouraged to discover even further (and intensified my desire to visit) through reading this compact guide to Wales.

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Review: The Girl on the Porch

The Girl on the Porch by Richard Chizmar
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

A traumatic and sad novella exposing the ugly underside of content and prosperous affluent suburban life. In a quiet Pennsylvania community, a lone woman seeks help, but the residents don't see nor hear in time. Soon, it's too late, and too late for some of the innocent to remain unscathed. "The evil that men do" is sometimes unintentional, occasionally by impulse, and other times, cultivated, yearned for, and developed to implacability. Beware: who holds the deepest, darkest, secrets?

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Review: Lies Sleeping

Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

#7 in the inimitable RIVERS OF LONDON Series, LIES SLEEPING focuses on more of the depredations of "master" criminal of the paranormal Martin Chorley and his quest to "change the world," beginning with London. Plenty of rough-and-ready action, danger, historical overlays, and magical realism, as Detective Peter Grant, magic practitioner, is put to the test over and over again.

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Review: The Furthest Station

The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

THR FURTHEST STATION is 7.5 in Ben Aaronovitch's excellent RIVERS OF LONDON series. Ghosts on London's Underground? Well, why not?! London is a truly ancient city. But these ghosts seem to be trying to deliver a message, and Peter Grant, paranormal police detective, intuits a life may be at stake.

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Review: The October Man

The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

THE OCTOBER MAN is an utterly delightful installment in the RIVERS OF LONDON Series. This is #7.5 in the series, set not in London with Peter Grant, but in Trier, Germany. The protagonist here is Tobias Winter of the Abteilung KDA, the branch of the German Federal Criminal Police tasked with investigation of the Supernatural. Like Peter Grant with London's Metropolitan Police, Tobias is a relatively fledgling magical practitioner/investigator. The case involves change and transformation, irritable river goddesses, ancient history, and fungi in very unexpected and deadly places.


If you enjoy Christopher Fowler's Peculiar Crimes Unit, Paul Cornell's Shadow Police, or Charles Stross' Laundry Files, try this out!

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Review: Corporate Wolf

Corporate Wolf by Stuart R. West
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Low salary, mean boss, overgrown expectations, stultifying cubicle farms, sexual harassment, poorly concealed bigotry and sexism: the corporate environment has much to answer for and very little to recommend it (unless you're a CEO with a Golden Parachute). However, most corporations don't actively endanger employees (except for private corporations with contracts in the Middle East). CORPORATE WOLF is a different story, as junior executive assistant Shawn discovers after an ill-fated paintball-game retreat in the forest. His corporation is playing for keeps--literally, and his boss is determined to reshape Shawn into something new and different.

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Review: The Missing Ones

The Missing Ones by Edwin Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Second in the Hester Thursby Mystery Series, which commenced with LITTLE COMFORT, THE MISSING ONES is primarily set on Maine's fictional Finisterre Island, accessible only by twice-daily ferry, but jam-packed in summer by holiday revelers. As an enclosed and insular environment, it's perhaps more of a showcase for human emotions and frailties than, say, a city like Boston. On the island, everybody knows everything and secrets are hard kept.


Hester and "not-husband" Morgan have been raising Morgan's niece Kate for a year now, and once independent Hester has come to terms with her fierce protectiveness for Kate. Then a text summons her to Finisterre Island to finally (she hopes) locate Kate's missing mother. But Finisterre has experienced the (temporary) misplacing of two young children already, and a rampant drug invasion. Is it safe to take Kate with her to the island?

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Review: Little Comfort

Little Comfort by Edwin Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When possible, I like to read thematically. But devoting August to ARCs, I didn't expect I could. Nevertheless, I've read several in the past few days that include certain ugly topics and that leave me emotionally wrung out (and often feeling vigilante-ish). This is certainly true of the first of the Hester Thursby Mysteries: LITTLE COMFORT. Author Edwin Hill manages to wring the heartstrings, do indepth study of psychology, put his characters in extreme danger, shock, surprise, startle, and satisfy. LITTLE COMFORT is steered by an unusual and endearing female protagonist, and offers some really good people. Of course, the villains are awful! However, that makes for a good balance and keeps us engrossed to the end, then eager for the second in the series (August 27).

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Review: The House on Cold Hill

The House on Cold Hill by Peter James
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Not much I love better than a good scary English ghost story, and now that I've read THE HOUSE ON COLD HILL, I'm quite eager to read its sequel, THE SECRET OF COLD HILL (upcoming). Author Peter James neatly works in 21st century technology (the setting is 2015), such as cell phones, laptops, email, web site design, as tools of the haunting occurring in a 1750 residence (and not only in the home and on the grounds, either). I found empathy with the characters readily come by so throughout I was anxious that their efforts would succeed and they would win out over the haunting. Well: be careful what you wish for, after all.

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Review: Still Born: A Short Horror Story

Still Born: A Short Horror Story by The Behrg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Horrific--and horrifying. As always this author yanks the reins away and follows his own lead (or that of his characters). The tragic grief is penetrating; but what I am left with is the persistent fear of the veil between probabilities weakening...

Not at all a good tale to read at night while home all alone.

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Review: One Star

One Star by The Behrg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've read enough from this always darkly imaginative author to know the only rule in his creations is: Close my eyes. Hold on. Don't fall off the roller coaster. Enter his latest, ONE STAR, an enterprising short story about a book blogger who gives a novel only "one star." Okay, thought I: surely criticized author will come gunning (or knifing, or axeing, or blowtorching) for Intrepid Blogger. Ha! I must remember who wrote this story! I loved it!!

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Review: Pale White

Pale White by Chad Lutzke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Some books have changed my life, made me a new person, opened my eyes, such as Susan Brownmiller's AGAINST OUR WILL: MEN, WOMEN, AND RAPE, which was my Thanksgiving reading in 1975. Now there is Chad Lutzke's PALE WHITE, whose traumatic subject matter exploded on Page One resulting in an immediate impulse to shut my eyes, cover my ears, toss the book, and run away screaming. I did none of that. Instead, I held on, endured the shocks, faced the trauma, screamed imprecations at the villains, empathetically hugged the victims.


And I am so glad I did. There is such incredible power in this novella. If it can be said of fiction that it shames the abusers, strengthens the survivors, and Speaks Truth To Power, let it be said of PALE WHITE.

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Review: Forgotten Bones

Forgotten Bones by Vivian Barz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

FORGOTTEN BONES is riveting! I couldn't take my eyes off the page, so it was a one-day reading. I'm ecstatic to know the series will continue and soon. The "good guys" here are really special and quite unusual. The "bad guys" (a multiplicity) are--to put it mildly--scary. All of them. The implacability, the total disregard for human life and dignity and the right to survive, their "philosophy of life"--chilling!! Author Vivian Barz fine-tunes her characters (where did she "find" some of these villains?!!) so that they are very realistic. Her treatment of Eric's psychology is humane and truthful. I am so eager to encounter these characters (the good guys) again.


Caution: FORGOTTEN BONES does deal with some very sensitive and upsetting subjects, including involving children and predators of children. Be aware.

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