The Black Midnight by Kathleen Y'Barbo

 

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Book Description

Two Series of Murders Seem Mysteriously Connected
Step into True Colors -- a series of Historical Stories of Romance and American Crime

Could a series of murders in London in 1889 be related to unsolved murders in Austin, Texas, 1884? Queen Victoria wants to know and asks her granddaughter—who left the queen’s good graces by going off to America to become a Pinkerton agent—to quietly look for any connection. The catch is the queen doesn’t want her to do it alone. Alice Anne must find her former Pinkerton agent partner—now an attorney in Austin—and enlist him in the hunt. As the pair get closer to finding their suspect, their lives become endangered, but they refuse to be intimidated. Can this case be solved?

Review

I received a dARC copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.

I have read several books in this series and thoroughly enjoyed them. This book explores a series of unsolved murders in both Austin and London during the late 1800s. The Jack the Ripper cases are well known; as a native Texan, I was not aware of the slew of murders in Austin that many believe are connected to the Ripper cases. I read almost half the book the first night - mainly because I was trying to figure out if the main characters were completely fictitious. In past books, they are yet the details around the crime are well researched and key players from history appear in the story. In this book, there's just a few things that are hard to believe. First, Annie, the heroine, is written as a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She either needs to truly be a granddaughter of the queen or should have been a much more distant relative. The other detail that really bothered me was the ending where Annie and her sister both seek to marry men outside of their social and economic circle and that it is easily allowed. I just don't buy it - not for the time in history. I believe women wanted more, but I don't believe that would be a choice women would be able to take, and certainly not royal women.
I really enjoyed the segment of the book that focused on the Austin murders; this series does such a good job of shedding light on historical crimes that would have been headlines in their time but that have also been forgotten. I wish there had been a little more time spent in London on the Ripper cases, but that's not the point of the story and of course, the killer has not been found. For such a complicated and well-known set of crimes, I like the way Y'Barbo handled the story.

This series is terrific for readers who love mystery and/or historical romance.

I gave this book: ★★★

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it    ★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it

Hello, Summer by Mary Kay Andrews, A Review

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Book Description

New York Times bestselling author and Queen of the Beach Reads Mary Kay Andrews delivers her next blockbuster, Hello Summer.

It’s a new season...

Conley Hawkins left her family’s small town newspaper, The Silver Bay Beacon, in the rearview mirror years ago. Now a star reporter for a big-city paper, Conley is exactly where she wants to be and is about to take a fancy new position in Washington, D.C. Or so she thinks.

For small town scandals...

When the new job goes up in smoke, Conley finds herself right back where she started, working for her sister, who is trying to keep The Silver Bay Beacon afloat—and she doesn’t exactly have warm feelings for Conley. Soon she is given the unenviable task of overseeing the local gossip column, “Hello, Summer.”

And big-time secrets.

Then Conley witnesses an accident that ends in the death of a local congressman—a beloved war hero with a shady past. The more she digs into the story, the more dangerous it gets. As an old heartbreaker causes trouble and a new flame ignites, it soon looks like their sleepy beach town is the most scandalous hotspot of the summer.

Review

I received an dARC copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.

There is a reason Andrews novels consistently top the best seller list: she is a phenomenal story teller.  While I think her characters lean towards cliche rather than deep development, the story is full of twists and turns. This story not only has the main mystery (or is it) to be solved, but two other sinister plots develop alongside Conley's attempt to get answers. I'm not sure how they actually tied in to the story and helped the plot along to be honest. As a masterful twist, I'm left wondering if the truth about the congressman's death was actually revealed. I still have questions about events in the book - I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. 

All that being said, this is an engaging story with a bit of mystery and a bit of family dynamics and a bit of romance. 

I gave this book: ★★★★

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it    ★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it

Dark Signal (Kate Fox #2) by Shannon Baker, A Review

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Book Description

Dark Signal by Shannon Baker is the second installment in the Kate Fox mystery series, called "A must read" by New York Times bestselling author Alex Kava, starring a female Longmire in the atmospheric Nebraska Sandhills.

Reeling from her recent divorce, Kate Fox has just been sworn in as Grand County, Nebraska Sheriff when tragedy strikes. A railroad accident has left engineer Chad Mills dead, his conductor Bobby Jenkins in shock. Kate soon realizes that the accident was likely murder.

Who would want to kill Chad Mills? Kate finds that he made a few enemies as president of the railroad workers union. Meanwhile his widow is behaving oddly. And why was his neighbor Josh Stevens at the Mills house on the night of the accident?

While her loud and meddling family conspires to help Kate past her divorce, State Patrol Officer Trey closes in on Josh Stevens as the suspect. Kate doesn’t believe it. She may not have the experience, but she’s lived in the Sandhills her whole life, and knows the land and the people. Something doesn’t add up―and Kate must find the real killer before he can strike again.

I received an eARC copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.

Dark Signal gripped me from the opening paragraph, dragged me to the Nebraska Sandhills and wouldn't let me go. As a mystery, this book hit all the points for me: intriguing mystery with numerous suspects, a law officer with just the right amount of confidence and vulnerability and a cast of supporting characters that draw in like one of the group and add a sense of real-life to the story.
I finished the book deeply satisfied and yet.....yearning for more Kate Fox and the rural Nebraska community she calls home. This book is so strong in both it's setting descriptions and character developments.

This is actually the second book in the series and while I haven't read the first book, that did not hinder me from connecting to Kate right away. Baker did an excellent job of making sure the reader knew bits of Kate's past and how that drives her now while not providing an overabundance of details or retelling the first book in a few pages. As a reader, I loved that; I was able to read and enjoy this book all the time knowing I'll go back and read the first book.

Another element that I enjoyed was the secondary mystery Baker wove throughout the book involving Kate's niece and her whereabouts and another mystery. It seems like this is a mystery that will unfold slowly, over several books and it's always fun to try to unravel the clues along with the protagonist. Finally, I loved how Baker was able to off-set tense moments with just the right amount of humor or sarcasm.

I gave this book: ★★★★★

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it    

★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it

Want to Know More?

You can visit Shannon Baker's website to learn more about Kate Fox and this series.

Deadly Proof by Rachel Dylan, A Review

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Book Description

In the biggest case of her career, attorney Kate Sullivan is tapped as lead counsel to take on Mason Pharmaceutical because of a corporate cover-up related to its newest drug. After a whistleblower dies, Kate knows the stakes are much higher than her other lawsuits.

Former Army Ranger turned private investigator Landon James is still haunted by mistakes made while serving overseas. Trying to forget the past, he is hired by Kate to look into the whistleblower's allegation and soon suspects that the company may be engaging in a dangerous game for profit. He also soon finds himself falling for this passionate and earnest young lawyer. 

Determined not to make the same mistakes, he's intent on keeping Kate safe, but as the case deepens, it appears someone is willing to risk everything--even murder--to keep the case from going to trial.

Review

I received an eARC copy of this book from the publisher. Here is my honest review.

This is legal thriller that doesn't have the typical cursing or violence that is characteristic of this genre. The legal case in the story is interesting but what makes the book enjoyable are the characters that Dylan has created. Kate is an attorney who is tough and accomplished but also full of heart. What I really enjoyed was the way Dylan wove the redemption of God into the story. The way she shared the Christian faith was the strongest part of the story.

Additionally, the supporting characters were not only likable but they are introduced in a way that the readers knows their story will be told later.

I gave this book: ★★★★

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it    

★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it

Death of a Mad Hatter by Jenn McKinlay, A Review ★★★★

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Book Description

Scarlett Parker and her British cousin, Vivian Tremont, are hard at work at Mim’s Whims—their ladies’ hat shop on London’s chic Portobello Road—to create hats for an Alice in Wonderland themed afternoon tea, a fund-raiser for a local children’s hospital. It seems like a wonderfully whimsical way to pass the hat, and Scarlett and Viv are delighted to outfit the Grisby family, the hosts who are hoping to raise enough money to name a new hospital wing after their patriarch.

Unfortunately, the Grisby heir will not live to see it—he’s been poisoned. When traces of the poison are found on the hat Scarlett and Viv made for him, the police become curiouser and curiouser about their involvement. Now the ladies need to don their thinking caps and find the tea party crasher who’s mad enough to kill at the drop of a hat…

Review

I borrowed this book from my local library.  Here is my honest review.

Super cute! I remember picking up the first book in the series, Cloche and Dagger based on the title and really enjoyed it. I am fascinated by the British custom of hats. It's so vintage, refined, chic, classic...

 McKinlay has created an endearing cast of characters for this series that kept me reading and looking forward to the second book. Scarlet is not afraid to speak her mind and be who she is - really admire that! Harrison is charming (except when he's bossy) and seeing the relationship develop just a tad bit more in this book was the perfect amount of satisfying. 

I gave this book: ★★★★

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it    

★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it

Revenge of the Cube Dweller: A Tanzie Lewis Novel by Joanne Fox Phillips, A Review ★★★★

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Book Description

Tanzie Lewis used to have it all. The stylish wife of a successful oil executive at the top of the Houston social scene, she used to spend her days playing scratch golf or lunching with friends at the club. That was before she was dumped in favor of a beautiful younger woman and the global financial crisis wreaked havoc on her divorce settlement. Now, at 52, Tanzie finds herself depressed and alone in Tulsa, watching her waist size grow and her professional opportunities shrink, working as a minion for clueless bosses in the internal audit department of the Bishop Group. So what’s a “girlie” to do? Snoop!
Taking advantage of Bishop Group’s security weaknesses, she begins to unravel the intricate warp and woof of corporate fraud, manipulation, and a cover-up that enrages her. Avenging the death of innocent Houstonians after a massive pipeline explosion, and uncovering her own hidden talents for sleuthing and cleverly tampering with the system, Tanzie dishes out her own justice to get even—and to get a little something for herself!

Review

I received an eARC copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Here is my honest review.

What a refreshing book to read! I found Tanzie to be easy to relate to - not because we share life experiences, but because she seemed so real. She was an average, flawed woman. Not flawed in drastic ways - just normal everyday ways. She was really honest with herself. This book was written in first person and sometimes I find that perspective to be .... shallow. Phillips writes very well and really drew me in to the story. 

By the time I finished the book, I had forgotten there was a subtitle to the book. It was left open for there to be other Tanzie Lewis books and I certainly look forward to reading more! If you are a fan of Kinsey Milhone, you'll like Tanzie Lewis!

I gave this book: ★★★★

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it    

★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it

The Butterfly Sister by Amy Gail Hansen, A Review

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I borrowed this book from my local library.

Book Description

"My past was never more than one thought, one breath, one heartbeat away. And then, on that particular October evening, it literally arrived at my doorstep."

Eight months after dropping out of Tarble, an all-women's college, twenty-two-year-old Ruby Rousseau is still haunted by the memories of her senior year-a year marred by an affair with her English professor and a deep depression that not only caused her to question her own sanity but prompted a failed suicide attempt.

And then a mysterious paisley print suitcase arrives, bearing Ruby's name and address on the tag. When Ruby tries to return the luggage to its rightful owner, Beth Richards, her dorm mate at Tarble, she learns that Beth disappeared two days earlier, and the suitcase is the only tangible evidence as to her whereabouts.

Consumed by the mystery of the missing girl and the contents of the luggage-a tattered copy of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, the book on which Ruby based her senior thesis, and which she believes instigated her madness-she sets out to uncover the truth, not only about Beth Richards's past but also her own. In doing so, Ruby is forced to reexamine the people from her past: the professor who whisked her away to New Orleans and then shattered her heart and the ghosts of dead women writers who beckoned her to join their illustrious group. And when Ruby's storyline converges with Beth's in a way she never imagined, she returns to the one place she swore she never would: her alma mater.

Review

I checked this book out from my local library (based solely on the title). When I started reading it, I had the synopsis confused with another book so it took me a little bit to get into the book. I really enjoyed this story of friendship and inner strength. 

Ruby is a young woman who has been crippled by worry over what other people think or would think of her if they knew about some of the choices she has made. I found her incredibly easy to identify with. 

Hansen did a remarkable job portraying young college students being charmed by a college professor. In Ruby's case, his love and then sudden withdrawal have very serious repercussions as she deals with a drug overdose, although it is never clear whether it was intentional or accidental. The plot twist was completely unexpected - I thought I had figured out who was responsible for Beth's disappearance but I was completely wrong. That is always nice to have happen in a book!

One of the things I enjoyed most was Ruby's relationship with her best friend: she was such a great example of a true friendship that loves in spite of our foibles and offers forgiveness and acceptance without hesitation. 

I found this book to be beautifully written and look forward to future offerings from Ms. Hansen.

I gave this book: ★★★★ 

★ = I did not like it     ★★ = It was okay     ★★★ = I liked it    

★★★★ = I really liked it     ★★★★★ = I loved it