Review: Revenge on Ice by Linda LeBlanc

 Genre: Police Procedural/Mystery

Description:

“A frozen corpse. A mystery investigation explodes into an adventure thriller where Detectives Sara and Ryker must survive the most dangerous pursuit of their lives in a race against time.

They’re a razor-sharp duo--equal parts wit, grit, and heart—forced to confront how far they’ll go for justice, each other, and survival.

As they uncover a trail of revenge, every clue leads deeper into a web of lies tied to a tragic Everest expedition led by the victim. Each team member carries a secret and has a motive for murder: a beguiling woman with a jealous husband, a violin maker who lost three fingers, an offbeat sculptor with a temper, a man who fled within hours of the crime. A rival climber benefits from the victim’s death.

Every discovery exacts a price. And as the countdown tightens, so does the line between hunter and hunted.”

Author:

An avid world traveler, Linda LeBlanc had visited 74 countries as of 2025. Born in Denver, Colorado she explored the Rocky Mountains and later expanded her explorations to other parts of the world including the Himalayas. She’s written a few other books. This is the second one in the Sara/Ryker Mystery series.

Appraisal:

A frozen body discovered in the freezer at a meat packing plant isn’t quite the same old thing to kick off the day for Sara and Ryker, a team of detectives for the police department. Figuring out how this happened, who was responsible, and hopefully bringing them to justice takes this detective team (with the reader tagging along, of course) down some unexpected roads, both figurative and literal roads. Uncovering the why and who is difficult and takes some strange turns in their path to figuring things out. But it also involves some trips to places many of us (okay, most of us) have never been and I suspect most haven’t even read or otherwise been exposed to what things are like in such places as the area around Mt Everest. If you have no clue what is involved in getting acclimated to the increased elevation near the top of the world’s tallest mountains, you’ll find that kind of thing out along the way with Sara and Ryker.

The author’s unique travel and adventure experiences as detailed in her biography are put to good use, adding to the uniqueness of this story.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

While the second book in a series featuring Sara and Ryker, this book stands alone.

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of proofing misses.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Reprise Review: Swerve by Mike Markel

 Genre: Police Procedural

Description:

“The Central Montana State community has waited a year to learn whether Syclone Systems, a maker of self-driving car technology, will enter into a long-term R&D partnership with the university. At a live demo on campus, where the company is expected to announce its decision, its man on campus, Bryan Orville, is run down by one of his experimental cars. Whoever altered the car’s computer code to kill him also erased all the forensic evidence. Because Orville had some nasty habits--fooling around with grad students, stealing promising research ideas, and publicly humiliating professors who didn’t meet his standards--Seagate and Miner are swamped with suspects. When a second body turns up, and then someone hacks Syclone and threatens to put them out of business, the detectives devise a plan to lure the killer out of hiding with a phony reward for solving the hack. But the killer knows there is much more money to be made selling the company’s trade secrets on the dark web. Besides, the killer is quite busy planning one last murder.”

Author:

“Mike Markel writes the Detectives Seagate and Miner Mystery series, which is set in the fictional small city of Rawlings, Montana, home of Central Montana State University. That university is somewhat like Boise State University, where Mike taught writing, but in Rawlings the weather is colder, the football team less successful, and the murder rate much, much higher.

Mike lives with his wife in Boise.”

Appraisal:

I’ve read several of the Seagate and Miner book. I’ve liked all of them, but realized that my main reasons for liking each book has varied a lot. That’s a good thing. In some installments, in addition to the mystery at the heart of every book, I’ve been focused on Seagate and Miner’s relationship, how their flaws and idiosyncrasies tend to offset each other, making them a strong team. In other books, my focus is on something different. For Swerve that was the concept of self-driving cars and what some of the complications of these might turn out to be. But, as always, the mystery kept me guessing and Seagate and Miner kept me entertained as I tried to solve the case with them.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

While this is the eighth book in the Seagate and Miner Mystery series this can be read as a standalone.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 90-95,000 words

Reprise Review: Dig Two Graves by Keith Nixon

 Genre: Thriller/Noir/Police Procedural

Description:

“When teenager Nick Buckingham tumbles from the fifth floor of an apartment block, Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray answers the call with a sick feeling in his stomach. The victim was just a kid, sixteen years old. And the exact age the detective's son, Tom, would've been, had he not gone missing at a funfair ten years ago. Each case involving children haunts Gray with the reminder that his son may still be out there - or worse, dead. The seemingly open and shut case of suicide twists into a darker discovery. Buckingham and Gray have never met, so why is Gray's number on the dead teenager's mobile phone?

With his boss, Detective Inspector Yvonne Hamson, Gray begins to unravel a murky world of abuse, lies, and corruption. An investigator from the Met is called in to assist, setting the local police on edge. And when the body of Reverend David Hill is found shot to death in the vestry of Gray's old church, Gray wonders how far the depravity stretches and who might be next. Nothing seems connected, and yet there is one common thread: Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray, himself. As the bodies pile up, Gray must face his own demons. Crippled by loss but determined to find the truth, Gray takes the first step on the long road of redemption.

Set in the once grand town of Margate in the south of England, the now broken and depressed seaside resort becomes its own character in this dark detective thriller.”

Author:

During the day Keith Nixon is employed in a “senior sales role” by a high-tech company in the UK. But when he gets home you’ll find him working on this next book in one of two unrelated genres, either hard-boiled crime fiction or historical fiction.

Appraisal:

This is the first of the Solomon Gray series and I’m already a fan. Gray is a detective and the main story thread appears, at least at first, to be a straightforward (although certainly unique) murder case. I anticipated a straightforward police procedural. It might have been except for Solomon Gray’s past, which haunts him in many ways and I think tends to change the way he views and approaches crime solving. As the story alternates between the two threads, us learning about Gray’s past and observing his efforts to solve the current case (eventually cases) the two threads start getting tangled with each other. I never saw that coming.

The result can be viewed as a police procedural or noir crime fiction or a bit of both. But what struck me is that the underlying story has more depth than is typical of either.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words

Reprise Review: Foreign Relations by Rebecca Forster

 Genre: Mystery/Police Procedural

Description:

“Traffic in downtown Los Angeles turns hellish when a woman hurtles from an overpass and crashes through the windshield of a car on the 110 Freeway. Narrowly escaping death in the epic pile up, Detective Finn O’Brien and his partner, Cori Anderson, throw themselves into the fray: Cori to triage and Finn rushing toward the flaming car in a desperate bid to save the woman. But survival is not an option. As the car explodes in a fireball, she dies in his arms. When her autopsy reveals a gruesome secret, Finn is determined to prove her death was no accident. Together with Cori, he follows a twisted trail that leads into the veiled and exotic world of L.A.'s exiled African community, the luxurious enclaves of Hollywood and finally to the doorstep of a third world despot whose cruelty knows no bounds and whose influence has a stranglehold on the City of the Angels.”

Author:

The author of numerous thrillers in multiple subgenres, USA Today bestseller Rebecca Forster lives in Los Angeles with her husband.

Appraisal:

This is only the second book in the Finn O’Brien Thriller series and already I feel like I’ve turned into a raving fan. In my mind, the case Finn and his partner Cori are working on doesn’t matter. They’re the reason I’m reading. The police procedural series that I’ve liked the most drew me in because of the appeal of the regular characters. That’s the solid foundation that’s needed for any series to succeed. Here, it’s not only the positive attributes Finn and Cori bring to the table (integrity, doggedness, and loyalty to name a few), but their imperfections as well, which lay that foundation. Not being able to tell the other how they feel about them is just one imperfection both share.

Of course, the story still has to work, and this one does. It combines international intrigue and Hollywood in the kind of story that could only take place in Los Angeles. Multiple story threads take unexpected twists before they all come together as Finn and Cori nail the culprit. I’d like to claim I saw it coming. The clues were there. But nope, that’s not who I would have guessed was whodunit.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

While the second in a series, this book can be read as a standalone.

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on a pre-release ARC and I can’t judge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 95-100,000 words

Review: Double Takedown by Kevin G. Chapman

 

Genre: Police Procedural/Crime Thriller

Description:

“What happens when a closed case breaks wide open?

NYPD homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and Jason Dickson are preparing to testify at a high-profile murder trial. They busted the Broadway director, who poisoned his leading actor to collect the insurance money on his doomed show. Or did he? The director claims the evidence was planted to frame him and that Mike and Jason developed tunnel vision. If they did, can they live with themselves, knowing that an innocent man might be convicted . . . and someone else got away with the perfect crime?

The prosecutor and their captain order them not to re-opening the closed case. But Mike and Jason are plagued by doubts. When new evidence leads to even more questions, the detectives race to put the pieces together and uncover the whole truth. But their unauthorized investigation could lead to catastrophic collateral damage, could cost them their badges, and the director may still be guilty.”

Author:

A lawyer specializing in labor and employment law by day, Kevin Chapman describes his real passions as playing tournament poker, rooting for the New York Mets, and writing fiction. For more, visit Mr Chapman’s website.

Appraisal:

I’ve read several of the thrillers featuring Mike Stoneman and enjoyed them all. This one was no exception. Just as we would expect in a book like this, homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and his partner Jason Dickson experience some tense situations. They have to figure out where to dig to find the answers they’re searching for and put all the pieces together to find the solution, just like with any good police detective mystery. However, this one has a twist that isn’t so common. That is the “case” they’ve decided to investigate is already solved, at least from an official point of view. They arrested a culprit and he’s headed for trial. But now they’re questioning whether they got the right guy. Maybe they did, but there were accomplices who should also be arrested.

I found myself torn about this story. Obviously, the guilty parties should be found and arrested. If the person that is set to go on trial is innocent, he should be let go. But what Stoneman and Dickson do to continue digging worried me. That their bosses told them not to dig bothered me and also caused me to worry that by going behind their boss’s back that it was going to backfire on them. I guess my feelings were conflicted, wanting the guilty parties to pay the price, but not wanting the good guys to get into trouble or cross the line to no longer being the good guys. All of that just upped the tension even more.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

While part of a series each book in the series stands alone. There is no need to have read the previous books to understand and follow this one.

Format/Typo Issues:

My review is based on the ARC (advance reader copy), so I can’t gauge the final product in area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: The Other Murder by Kevin G. Chapman

 

Genre: Murder Mystery/Police Procedural

Description:

“Sometimes, the most dangerous thing . . . is the truth.

For disgraced cable news producer Hannah Hawthorne, covering the shooting of a pretty NYU sophomore is a chance for redemption. When the story snowballs into a media circus, Hannah’s reporting fans the sensationalistic flames and earns her acclaim. The tragic murder, seemingly the result of random urban gun violence, prompts protests and vigils that further magnify the story.

Meanwhile, Paulo, a reporter for a small online neighborhood newspaper, is following the other murder in Washington Square Park that same night – a Hispanic teen. He discovers an unexpected connection that is political dynamite. When Hannah and Paulo team up, they uncover disturbing facts, leading them to question everything they thought they knew. Their reporting also leads them to the man who might be the killer.

When the story is ready to explode, the truth may be hotter than anyone can handle. Breaking the next scoop could ruin Paulo’s paper and wreck Hannah’s career – and it could get them both killed.

If you like David Baldacci's page-turners, Michael Connelly’s cops, and Sara Paretsky’s quirky characters, you will love The Other Murder.”

Author:

A lawyer specializing in labor and employment law by day, Kevin Chapman describes his real passions as playing tournament poker, rooting for the New York Mets, and writing fiction. For more, visit Mr Chapman’s website.

Appraisal:

For those who have read and liked Kevin G. Chapman’s Mike Stoneman Thriller series, this book is different than those, but I think you’ll still like it. Both take place in New York, and some characters you might recognize from those books pop up or get mentioned in some way including Stoneman himself, but the focus of the story is much different from what it would be in those books. Just before the start of chapter one (I guess I could call it the preface although it isn’t labeled that way) are two quotes.

“An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propaganda, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“In seeking truth, you have to get both sides of a story.” – Walter Cronkite

These two quotes set up the heart of this story. There are two murders that happen in New York’s Washington Square Park the same day. The two main characters in this tale, Hannah, the producer for a cable TV news program, and Paulo, a reporter who writes for a small neighborhood newspaper, get involved, both reporting what is known, but doing what they can to dig out more details about both murders, determine if they have any relationship to each other, and then struggle with how and what to report about their findings and how to find out more.

The resulting story is one with a mystery, that as a reader kept me involved as the different pieces of the whole story came to light. But there is also a side story that sent my thoughts off on tangents, pondering the press, what we can and should expect from them, and wondering if there is a way to help better align their priorities to what would bring about the best result for everyone. I think both Gandhi and Cronkite were onto something and Chapman’s story ought to get us all thinking.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on an advance reviewer copy, so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 95-90,000 words

Reprise Review: Warped Ambition by Debbie S. TenBrink

 Genre: Police Procedural/Mystery

Description:

“When the battered body of a teenage girl is found in a dumpster, Lieutenant Jo Riskin is called to take the case. Investigating with her partner, Detective Lynae Parker, Jo uncovers secrets, loyalties, and ambitions that give motives to a surprising number of suspects, including a boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks.

While immersed in her current case, Jo is battling her own personal demons. After two years, she is still grieving over the loss of her husband, who was killed in the line of duty. New information that could help solve his murder, and let her move on with her life, is within her grasp.

Barricading her heart, Jo is determined to solve both cases and bring the killers to justice.”

Author:

“Debbie S. TenBrink grew up on a farm in West Michigan, where her family has lived for over 150 years. She still lives within five miles of her childhood home with her husband, four children, and dog, Mojo (who is the only real-life character in her book). She has a Master’s degree in career and technical education, and she taught computer classes in two local colleges before beginning her current career as a software specialist for a law firm. In her free time, Debbie enjoys camping, hiking, sports, and any other activity she can use as an excuse to spend time in the great outdoors. Other hobbies include reading (of course), having long conversations with the characters living in her head, and an almost frightening interest in true crime TV shows. Her passion for writing began in childhood with short stories and poetry, and she can’t remember a time when she didn’t know that she would someday write a novel.”

Appraisal:

This is book one of the Jo Riskin Mystery series and it appears to be Debbie TenBrink’s first book. What a great start. I’m ready for book two now.

Police procedurals have been a genre I’ve enjoyed reading over the years. After reading this book and trying to put my finger on why I liked it I came up with two big reasons.

The first reason is the obvious one. The mystery at the root of the case (or for this book, the two cases) that the protagonist is trying to solve needs to hit the right balance. It can’t be too obvious. If you’re convinced you know whodunit shortly after the book starts and you turn out to be correct, the book isn’t going to work. But the opposite, a last second twist that you could have never seen coming, maybe a random person walking off the street and confessing, is even worse. Warped Ambition hit that balance. The answer wasn’t obvious, but the clues were there. (I won’t say any more to avoid spoiling the story.)

The second thing that occurred to me was that I liked Jo Riskin and her partner Lynae and when I explored why I realized that it was because of their imperfections. They’re human. Imagine a detective who is perfect. They wouldn’t struggle. They wouldn’t misinterpret something. They’d never make any missteps. And books with this mythical perfect detective would bore the reader to death. It’s the imperfections of the detectives and their fighting through their own issues to get to the solution that make the story work. If sometimes we get to the answer before the detective, all the better. (I didn’t this time, but it wasn’t because the clues weren’t there.) Ms. TenBrink has a winner with Jo and Lynae. Yup. I’m ready for the next one now.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Original review published May 30, 2017

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Review: Textbook Murder by Fred Tippett, II

 Genre: Mystery/Police Procedural

Description:

“In Textbook Murder, bestselling author and crime fiction professor Frank Hall investigates the mysterious death of his mentee and student Damien Morgan when the Seattle Police Department dismisses it as an accident. Frank's investigation quickly unearths a series of buried secrets and lies surrounding Damien's final days, including an illicit relationship with a most unlikely suspect. But when Frank's efforts turn up more questionable deaths and a motive to kill with dark ties to a major publishing corporation, Frank finds that he must catch the killer quickly or risk becoming the next victim.”

Author:

“Fred Tippett, II, is the author of the Young Adult Mystery novels The Women in White and The Lethal List. Fred currently lives in Alabama, though he is a Washington-DC-barred attorney. He holds a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Pennsylvania—and primarily uses his legal education to bolster the credibility of police procedural elements for his novels.”

For more, visit Mr Tippett’s website.

Appraisal:

Frank Hall isn’t your typical detective. As an author and a professor who teaches a class on writing crime fiction, Frank has a talent for inserting a subtle clue in his writing and for spotting those same clues when he’s reading or evaluating a real-life mystery. When he sees that the detectives from the Seattle Police Department are going to go with the obvious quick suspect when his student is killed, he sees things that convinces him there is more to the story, so he starts digging. Those subtle clues start adding up taking him deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. It turns out that things are even more complicated that he first thought. Frank keeps the reader engrossed as he digs up more clues and gets closer and closer to finding the guilty party. One of the more engrossing mysteries I’ve read recently.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

A small number of errors.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 75-80,000 words

Reprise Review: Players by Mike Markel

 Genre: Police Procedural

Description:

 “The death of Lake Williams, a former football player at Central Montana State, in his squalid tent in a homeless camp looks to Seagate and Miner like a routine heroin overdose. Soon, however, they discover that someone hired a courier to deliver the uncut heroin, knowing that Lake would shoot up and die instantly. When a second body turns up, and then a third, the evidence points to the head coach and the other leaders of the football program, who appear to be covering up a secret that would destroy the program. When a man comes forward, claiming to have committed numerous felonies on behalf of the program over many years, the detectives don’t know whether he is the killer or merely a decoy in an elaborate misdirection play. In a heart-pounding final confrontation, Seagate and Miner confront the killer--and realize they have walked right into the trap.”

Author:

 “Mike Markel writes the Detectives Seagate and Miner Mystery series, which is set in the fictional small city of Rawlings, Montana, home of Central Montana State University. That university is somewhat like Boise State University, where Mike taught writing, but in Rawlings the weather is colder, the football team less successful, and the murder rate much, much higher.

Mike lives with his wife in Boise.”

For more, visit Mike's website.

Appraisal:

 “Our partnership works because of our opposite styles. Ryan is calm, rational, and thoughtful. I’m … not.”

The character Karen Seagate may have more than her share of imperfections, but lack of self-awareness isn't one of them. In that quote she gets to the heart of why her fictional partnership with Ryan Miner makes for such good stories, too. This is the seventh book of the series and as I've reviewed each I've raved about the characters of Seagate and Miner as well as the story. Consider this another rave.

The fictional town of Rawlings, Montana where all the books take place is another piece of Markel's solid foundation for the series. Many of the stories involve happenings at the university in Rawlings and in this installment that is especially true. Along with the story of Seagate and Miner investigating a murder you might also find yourself considering college sports and the price athletes sometimes pay to participate.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Adult language.

Original review posted October 20, 2016.

Format/Typo Issues:

 No significant issues

Rating: ??

Reviewed by:BigAl

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words

Review: Blood Sentence by Keith Nixon

 

Genre: Police Procedural/Thriller

Description:

“Three bodies, one suspect. That suspect is you…

When the unidentified corpse of an apparent suicide victim is found hanging above a complex pattern of forty photographs of children, Detective Inspector Jonah Pennance of the Met’s specialist Sapphire Unit is brought in to investigate.

A post-mortem reveals the suicide was murder, and Pennance realises he knows the man. But as the body count rises, all the signs point to a care home in Kent – a place that Pennance is all too familiar with.

The problem is the only person connecting the victims is Pennance – and he has a solid motive for wanting them dead… Can Pennance prove his innocence?”

Author:

“Keith Nixon is the best-selling author of sixteen novels and one million words in print, including the Margate based Solomon Gray series of over 250,000 copies in circulation and reached no.1 on Amazon in the UK, US, Canada and Australia.

Keith lived near the gritty seaside town of Margate, where many of his novels are based, for 17 years before relocating to the edge of the Peak District with his family where he lives today. Keith works in a senior sales role within a high-tech industry and has regularly travelled all over the globe.”

For more, visit his website.

Appraisal:

Reading the first book of a new series is always going to be different from reading the subsequent books in the series. In the first book you’re getting to know the main characters, in this case Detective Inspector Jonah Penance, the protagonist, and a few of his cohorts that will presumably appear in subsequent installments. As you continue the series that sense of discovery will lessen, but instead you’ll be getting the latest from an “old friend,” which still appeals, but in a different way.

This story is unique because the evidence points towards Penance as the obvious suspect. We know (okay, we’re pretty sure) that he didn’t commit the crimes. If he did then he doesn’t remember it and we’ve got much bigger issues and little chance of subsequent cases, so we can probably rule that out. However, in investigating the case we find out much more about Penance and his personal history than is typical for a fictional police detective. With things hitting so close to home it makes for a much more intense case than the typical detective story for both the fictional detective and the reader. As with all good mysteries, it kept me guessing the whole way.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

This is the first book in a new series.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 85-90,000 words

Review: Unbalanced by Jason Parent

 Genre: Psychological Thriller/Police Procedural/Suspense

Description:

“By-the-book Detective Asante Royo can only clean up Fall River’s filth for so long without getting dirty. When he’s called to an apparent suicide at an apartment complex notorious for its prostitution and drug trade, he doesn’t shed a tear for the life wasted. Yet something about the scene haunts him, and when his investigation gets swept under the rug, he has a hard time living with the stain.

Jaden Sanders is an unstable loner who lives across the hall from the crime scene. When three men break into his apartment, Jaden is ready for a fight. He kills two of his attackers in self-defense then stalks and stabs the third in the back. Jaden is soon arrested for murder.

With no clear motives for the home invasion or Jaden’s violent response, Royo must uncover the true story before more people get hurt. His only leads are derived from the version of events extracted from a truly unbalanced mind. Is Jaden a victim being steamrolled by cold justice or a murderer capable of killing again?”

Author:

“In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls New England his home. The region offers an abundance of settings for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He currently resides in Rhode Island.”

For more, visit the author’s website.

Appraisal:

As the description explains, there are four deaths and two different cases that detective Asante Royo is working on in this story. One of these is a case already closed as an apparent suicide, yet that resolution never sat quite right with Royo. Then this new one, borderline in some respects, but a case of three dead that he sees as a valid instance of self-defense, in spite of what the prosecutor says.

This was an intense story that kept me guessing, as I’d hope from this kind of tale. Even when I thought I knew who had actually done what, there was still a question as to whether the ending would be satisfying, which kept me engaged. But what set this book apart from many I’ve read was that those I perceived as the good guys (or gals) were much more flawed than the stereotypical good guy, sometimes crossing lines I wished they hadn’t. At times I found myself sympathizing with the bad guys (or those I perceived as fitting that category). At least a few of the characters kept me guessing as to which category they actually belonged in. Then the ending had a twist I’d have never predicted which brought us to a conclusion I by then expected although with no idea how we were going to get there. What a ride.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Some adult language.

Format/Typo Issues:

Review based on an ARC (advanced reader copy), so I can’t judge the final product in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Righteous Assassin by Kevin G. Chapman

 

Genre: Thriller/Police Procedural

Description:

“A MOB BOSS IS EATEN ALIVE BY TIGERS AT THE BRONX ZOO. . . .That was the fourth unsolved murder in four months - each on the last Saturday. The other three were even more unusual . . .  Could they be related? The victims share no similar traits and have no connections. Why would a single killer choose such strange and disparate methods? Why spread your victims across all of New York?

Each new murder adds a piece to the killer's jigsaw puzzle, but unraveling the clues and finding the killer's pattern may not be enough to catch him. NYPD homicide Detectives Mike Stoneman and Jason Dickson have to stop the elusive killer before he completes his decathlon of death. Mike must also avoid being distracted by Medical Examiner Michelle McNeill, who seems to be on his mind a lot lately. She's an asset to the investigation, but is this any time to be starting a romance?  The task force is racing against the calendar. Only one thing is certain - on the last Saturday of the month, there will be blood.”

Author:

A lawyer specializing in labor and employment law by day, Kevin Chapman describes his real passions as playing tournament poker, rooting for the New York Mets, and writing fiction. For more, visit Mr Chapman’s website.

Appraisal:

Although this is the first book in this series featuring Detective Mike Stoneman it is the third book I’ve read and it’s my favorite in some ways, but also gives me one mild regret.

I loved the plot. We, as the reader, are given some insight into the thinking of the serial killer who has run amuck in New York that Mike Stoneman, his partner, and the eventual team they put together is trying to catch in this book. What we knew wasn’t enough to figure out where the story was going, but helped the reader gauge how well the team of detectives were doing in figuring things out which added to the tension. I liked all the characters although I got frustrated with some of them at times, which leads to the regret.

Although the mystery or case in each of the books I’ve read are stand alone, so there is no critical reason why the books in the series should be read in order, I found that some of the characters in this book that I’d already met in future books, specifically Mike Stoneman, his detective partner Jason Dickson, and Michelle McNeil, the medical examiner that autopsies the victims in this case, relate to each other in much different ways in future books, so I know how some of the subsidiary story threads in this book are going to turn out. It didn’t ruin the mystery, but it did change how I reacted to some events this time around. If you’ve read one of the later books in the series, I’d advise you to come back and read this one, it’s definitely a good one. But if you haven’t read the others, start with this one and you won’t regret knowing where things are headed with these characters.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

This is the first book in a series of five (or five thus far) books. If you haven’t read any of them, I’d advise reading them in order, but they can be read out of order without ruining the plot of the mystery or thriller aspect.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 120-125,000 words

Review: Ain't That a Kick in the Head by Nigel Bird

 

Genre: Crime Fiction/Police Procedural

Description:

“This year, the fireworks will be red hot…

Skates Farrington is a changed man. Gone are the smart suits, the dull meetings and the extra pounds. Nowadays, he gets his thrills at the skate park and from whatever substances his dealers send his way. The only thing missing from his life is his ex-wife. She’s shacked up with a respectable partner in an isolated farm and striving to create the perfect life. Skates is convinced that she will come back to him when she sees his new self, but when attempts to win her heart all over again are thrown back in his face, he decides a little gentle persuasion is in order. Now he can include murder and abduction among his new-found skills.

DI Oliver Wilson, leading the investigation, has more than a few things on his mind. The case and imminent arrival of his third child should be at the forefront of his thoughts, but the arrival of a sequence of unusual gifts is making him nervous. The packages are sending him a message, he just can’t work out what they’re trying to say.”

Author:

Nigel Bird is a Scottish school teacher as well as a writer of fiction. He has several novels available and has had his work appear in numerous magazines.

Appraisal:

As I was pondering this book something occurred to me that I don’t remember considering before. Specifically, the different things that a story may or may not have and how those different approaches keep a reader engaged in the story. In this case I was thinking specifically about the difference between a mystery or a lot of stories that, like this one, have some main characters who are police detectives trying to solve a crime and how those compare to stories where the reader knows who committed the crime early in the story. Here we know who committed the crimes in question when they happen or even before (the book description spills the beans).

What keeps the reader engaged isn’t figuring out who did it, but wondering whether those who don’t have those answers are going to figure it out and stop the criminal before he does more. That threat of more crime keeps the reader engaged. That’s what happened to me here. What Skates was going to do, just how far he’d go, and what damage he was going to cause was never clear. The answer to that question kept me wondering and engaged in the story.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Although this is book #3 in a series it can be read as a standalone.

Format/Typo Issues:

This review is based on an ARC (advance reader copy), so I can’t gauge the final product in this area.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

Review: The Wrong Side of Murder by Jeff Buick

 

Genre: Suspense/Police Procedural

Description:

“Prom night and Darina was having a great time – until someone killed her and stuffed her body in a wall.

Now, twenty years later, Boston homicide detective Aislinn Byrne is staring at her friend’s dehydrated body, draped over a chunk of broken drywall. For two decades Aislinn wondered what happened to Darina – how and why she disappeared without a trace. Aislinn works the case hard, but it’s a convoluted path to the truth. Darina’s father, Alexi, was running organized crime rackets and was murdered six months before she went missing. The obvious question boils up to the surface – are the two murders connected – and if so, how?

Curtis Westcott, head of Boston Homicide, reopens Alexi’s unsolved murder and that puts him head-to-head with a trifecta of powerful gangsters. It’s a wall of silence, but Westcott gradually begins to peel back the layers. As he and Aislinn share information and both investigations move ahead, one thing becomes clear – the killer is still out there and watching their every move.”

Author:

A resident of Calgary, my favorite city in Alberta, Jeff Buck writes mysteries, thrillers, and crime fiction. The previous installment of the Curtis Westcott Crime Series won an award from the International Thriller Writers in the Best Original Ebook category in early 2021.

Appraisal:

The first chapter of this book chronicled Boston police detective Aislinn Byrnne’s visit to a crime scene. Remodeling in an office building uncovered a dehydrated body stashed inside the wall. When Aislinn gets a good look at the body she recognizes it is Darina, a friend of hers who disappeared twenty years earlier on the night of their senior prom. That first chapter grabbed my attention and I had little doubt this was going to be an intense, interesting read. It turned out even better than I expected.

I’ll try to be vague so as to not spoil the story for anyone, but once Aislinn’s boss is convinced that her relationship with the victim isn’t going to be an issue, she starts digging. As you might expect, things hit close to home with her reliving prom night over and over, evaluating everything that happened prior to Darina’s disappearance, questioning their group of friends, and trying to figure out what happened. Her dad and a couple of his friends who are retired police officers help Aislinn in understanding some of the things going on in the city twenty years ago that a high school girl wouldn’t have been attuned to. In the end, what she uncovers isn’t at all what I’d have guessed at the start of the book, but the road getting there was an intense story that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

A small amount of adult language.

Although the second book in a series, reading of the first in the series isn’t needed in order to

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 100-105,000 words