Nevermore: Evan Warlow, Key Trilogy, Theo of Golden

 

Our first Nevermore member recommended Rhys Dylan’s Evan Warlow series which is set in Wales.  In the first book, The Engine House, retired DCI Warlow is called in when a landslide reveals the bodies of two missing persons—a case Warlow had investigated eight years earlier.  The books make good use of the location, with local color highlighting the mystery. 4 Stars FE

Nora Roberts’ Key trilogy captured the attention of another reader.  Three women are brought together to free the imprisoned souls of three demigoddesses. Described as “mindless but fun” the books are Key of Light, Key of Knowledge, and Key of Valor. 4 Stars MH

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi continues to make the rounds.  This week’s reviewer praised it for its heart and humor, adding that it somehow managed to avoid cursing, which she found very refreshing. Four Stars WJ

Other Books Mentioned

107 Days by Kamala Harris

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Sailing the Shallows by Roger Barnes

The Elements by John Boyne

When It All Burns by Jordan Thomas

Modern American Memoirs edited by Annie Dillard and Court Conley

Buckeye by Patrick Ryan

Redwoods by Jason Chin

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter by Aaron Reynolds

Naked in Death by J.D. Robb

 

Once again, we are pleased to have Kevin Tipple provide us with a guest review.  Kevin's own award-winning blogspot features reviews, news, and author interviews with an emphasis on the mystery genre.  Check out Kevin's Corner!

 

Naked in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book 1) is the first novel in a police procedural series that is set in 2058 according to the author’s website thought it is not actually specified in the book itself. AI is everywhere, there are flying cars, and more. Firearms, as we know them, are banned and those that remain are considered antiques and primarily in the possession of the wealthy people who collect them. Despite a technology driven future, there are still murders and a need for a police force.

As the book opens, Detective Eve Dallas awakens in her New York City apartment just a few hours after she killed a man. The fact that she ended his life does not haunt her at all. The fact she was unable to save the young child does. An issue she will need to hide as she goes through testing today so that she can go back to duty. 

At least that was her plan before the Commander sent her to a homicide at Twenty-Seven West Broadway on the eighteenth floor. Testing, for now, is out the window, because she is needed on this case and it is a high priority. Not only is she to be the main detective on the case, she is only to report to the commander, and a tight lid is in place. Once on scene, she soon learns why all the secrecy and the restrictions. 

It isn't every day the granddaughter of a U.S. Senator moves to New York and becomes a licensed companion (prostitute). Sharon DeBlass was that granddaughter and she is now very much dead in her bed. She was not stabbed or cut by a laser. Instead, she is a victim of three very strategically placed gunshots. Those gunshots and the gun used are very much a message sent by the killer to law enforcement and the public.

 Her grandfather is Senator DeBlass of Virginia. He comes from old money and is a very vocal champion of extreme right-wing politics. Why she was murdered and who killed the 24-year-old woman are the most obvious questions for Lieutenant Dallas. Clearly, it was not a suicide. The fact that her wounds were inflicted by gunshot, in this case, a .38 made many years before the gun ban, could be a political statement of some sort. That fact as well as the fact that the killer reported the death himself by way of video call after posing the body means this is not the work of a random killer acting out of a rage moment. This was a deliberately planned and orchestrated event. Lieutenant Dallas and her partner for this case, Ryan Feeney, have a bad one on their hands.

It also will not be the last. 

What follows is a complicated police procedural with a bit of romance that often becomes graphic. The story itself is highly entertaining despite the author's frequent pov head hops between the characters. In some paragraphs, two or more head hops happen in the same paragraph with a couple of sentences. That tends to be disconcerting to the reader as is the author’s technique of constantly shifting between third person and first throughout the read. One does tend to get used to it, after a while, but it does provide a distraction in otherwise entertaining story. 

Naked in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book 1), overall, is a complicated and very entertaining police procedural. Graphic in terms of the murders in the book as well as intimate moments between characters, it is not for every reader. Having had the series recommended to me by Lesa Holstine in a comment on her Faithless In Death review, who also pointed out there are fifty more books, I have my reading work cut out for me. Challenge accepted.

 

The second book in the series, Glory In Death, is on the way in large print to my local library branch.

 

 Naked in Death: Eve Dallas Mysteries (Book 1)

J. D. Robb

https://jdrobb.com/1995/07/naked-in-death/

Putnam

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/300636/naked-in-death-by-j-d-robb/9780593197455

1995

ISBN# 0399151575

Hardback (also available in audio, eBook, and paperback formats)

294 Pages

My read was an eBook version provided by Barry Ergang from his personal library after he saw my comment on Lesa Holstine’s recent review as noted above.

 

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2021

 

 

 

 

Secrets in Death by J. D. Robb

Reviewed by Kristin

Gritty New York streets, sharp eyed homicide cop, someone done wrong—all things that readers can expect from J. D. Robb in her series featuring Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYPSD.  Set in about 2060 New York City, Secrets in Death begins with Dallas meeting a friend at chic Manhattan hotspot Du Vin.  Before the night is done, “social information reporter” Larinda Mars is dead at Dallas’ feet.  With Mars’ inquiring mind and habit of digging up secrets that others might wish kept private, there is no shortage of suspects.

Mars knew a lot about a lot of people.  It was her business, after all, reporting upon the glitzy social set.  Of course some prominent people come from humble and sometimes shameful beginnings.  Mars knew just what buttons to push and how long she could push them.  But as she turns up dead, Dallas must question if Mars might have pushed someone a bit too far.

Fans of J. D. Robb will appreciate the consistent elements in this series entry.  Dallas is at her best, always speaking for the dead, even those who weren’t the most pleasant in life.  Her husband Roarke owns half the city, or maybe half the planet, and quite a few things off planet as well.  The two or three obligatory sex scenes make their way into the story, as Dallas always needs a bit of relaxing after working a solid 24 hours after the crime.  All is to be expected, as Robb is the well known pseudonym of Nora Roberts.

It’s been several years since I read anything by Robb, but I found that it was easy to pick up again even if I wasn’t reading the series in order.  I was amused by Dallas’ partner Detective Delia Peabody, especially in the scenes where Dallas is doing something nice for Peabody, making Peabody want to hug her, but knowing that any physical affection would likely make Dallas come back with a punch.  Peabody’s joyful exuberance (whether it be about real coffee or her main squeeze Ian McNab) is a great foil to Dallas’ serious cop face.

Listening to this as an audiobook, Peabody had a different voice than I thought she would, sort of a fresh-off-the-farm girl who might spout “Golly gee willikers!” any moment.  Roarke’s Irish brogue was laid on quite thickly, and distracted me until my brain got used to the speech rhythms.

And then there is the cat.  Galahad is a minor character by any measure, but the fat, lazy, gray cat makes Dallas and Roarke’s mansion feel like a home.  He is often there to wind around Dallas’ feet at the end of a long day, or to perch on her backside as she gets a few hours of sleep before waking up to work again.  Galahad makes just enough of an appearance in each book to make me believe that Robb/Roberts knows the love of a cat and can accurately describe feline mannerisms.

Believe it or not, this is Robb’s 45^th book in the series.  Fans can look forward to Dark in Death in January 2018.

Everybody's a Critic: Found Reviews of Books, Part 2

Compiled by Kristin

As noted a few months ago, sometimes our lovely patrons leave little notes written inside the covers of books, telling what they liked, loved, or hated.  Most of our quick-reviewers have strong opinions, and often they clash with other readers.  Check here if you missed our earlier compilation.  So if you'd like a few quick opinions on a wide variety of books, read on!

 “I love Nora Roberts.  Her books are hot!”  --Loving Jack by Nora Roberts

“Good if you like a lot of shooting!” –Fool’s Coach by Richard S. Wheeler

“GOOD, GOOD, GOOD!:
          and
“Yes—very good.”
          and
“One of the Best!!”
          and
“I agree”
          and
“You all must be crazy!  What a dysfunctional family.  Her books are so depressing!!”
          and
“Good, but her opinion of Christian religion was a disappointment.”

     --Colony by Anne Rivers Siddons

 “Fairly good—but another stupid hero.” –The Holdout in the Diablos by Louis Trimble

Then there was the long-ago librarian who pasted blank paper in the front of novels so that readers might share their opinions.  Perhaps our current day patrons are simply continuing the tradition.

“Dear Patron:  After reading this book, please write one or two sentences giving your impressions of it.  These comments will help others decide if they want to borrow this volume.  Please keep comments short, so others may also participate.  Thank you.”

“This is a book I wouldn’t recommend to anyone.  It was boring.”

“Not as bad as all that—just slow moving.”

“Great if you like classic British mysteries.”

“This is an excellent book.”

“Excellent—she spends the needed time to develop her characters well so that we can THINK through the mystery.  An excellent read!”

“This is 2014, I have just read Ann Perry’s latest book.  I have read all her books, they get better every year.  I consider her the greatest Victorian Mystery writer.”

     --Resurrection Row by Anne Perry

“Fair.  I don’t like stupid heroes.”  --Shotgun Law by Nelson Nye

“Stupid betraying girl.  Too pushy and completely doesn’t know what she wants!”  --Daring Moves by Linda Lael Miller

“Great…Deep…Neato…Wow”

“Good book!”

“Hilarious”

“It stunk, NOT! Great book.”

“Excellent, excellent, excellent—too good for words.”

“Great!  Thought provoking!”

“Brilliant—hilarious—adorable”

“Wonderful, funny, thought provoking!”

“As always, C.S. Lewis is a wonderful read!”

“Amazing!  Thought provoking and troublesome.”

     --The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

What do you think?  Any opinions on any of these books?  Please feel free to leave comments here.

May Favorites: Most Requested Books

Here’s our list of the most requested books for May:

10. Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer is the third book in the riveting Clifton family saga, following Sins of the Father.

9. Bone Tree by Greg Iles is scheduled for December 2013.

8. Second Honeymoon by James Patterson and Howard Roughan has FBI agent John O’Hara seeking a killer who kills newlyweds. O’Hara first appeared in Honeymoon.

7. Deeply Odd by Dean Koontz follows Odd Thomas across the west as he searches for a man he believes is going to murder three children.  This is the seventh “Odd Thomas” novel; a movie version of the first book is scheduled to come out this year.

6. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson is NOT one of her Jackson Brodie mysteries.  Instead, Atkinson recounts the life of Ursula Todd—or rather, the lives of Ursula as the main character progresses through different versions of her life, from dying as an infant to attempting to assassinate Hitler.

5. Ninth Girl by Tami Hoag has detectives Nikki Liska and Sam Kovac investigating the murder of a mutilated girl by a serial killer who seems to strike around holidays.

4. Don’t Go by Lisa Scottoline begins with a soldier in Afghanistan being told that his wife Chloe has died in an an accident.  He returns home but soon discovers Chloe had secrets he feels compelled to uncover.

3. Inferno by Dan Brown is the long awaited new novel featuring Harvard professor Robert Langdon. This time Langdon is in Italy, trying to unravel a mystery connected with Dante.

2.Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts has attorney Eli Landon moving into his grandmother’s house to try to put his life back together after being suspected of murdering his wife.  His grandmother’s attractive caretaker, Abra, inspires him to try to prove his innocence in this romantic mystery.

And the most requested book is:

1. Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris is the book every fan wants and dreads: the last of the Sookie Stackhouse series.  Harris’ psychic waitress and her world of vampires, faeries, and shapeshifters have attracted a very loyal following, so it’s no wonder everyone wants to know how it all turns out.

The Inn at Boonsboro Trilogy by Nora Roberts

Reviewed by Doris

One of the most prolific writers in the world, Roberts is called the “Queen of Romance” for good reason. Her books are vastly popular, filled with gorgeous men and women, sassy dialogue, and the fairy tale ending that romantics expect.  Often writing trilogies or quartets that involve sets of brothers, sisters, or friends, Roberts can lay out romantic settings and love stories with enough twists and turns to make even the most cynical of us go, “Awwwwww.”

Roberts has a new trilogy set in the town of Boonsboro, a real town in Maryland where Roberts lives. Inspired by a renovated inn owned by her husband and his family, Roberts details small town Boonsboro with all its best characters and small town quirks. Following her proven formula for success, Roberts writes about three brothers named Montgomery.  Ryder is the oldest, hardest on the outside and maybe even inside. Owen is the organizer who keeps everyone on schedule and holds a tight rein on the budget. Beckett is the architect and visionary for the family projects. Their mom is Justine who rules her boys with an iron glance and unconditional love.  She and Beckett are the ones who see a building and transform it into something very special. Center to their vision is the renovation of a derelict inn that anchors the main street and pre-dates the Civil War.

The Next Always is Book One and tells the story of youngest Montgomery brother Beckett and beautiful Clare. All through high school he had a crush on Clare, but Clare was in love with another guy. After her husband is killed in Afghanistan, Clare returns to Boonsboro with her two little boys and pregnant with her third. Beckett, who has always had a way with the ladies, finds himself totally tongue-tied around Clare but just as attracted to her as he was at fifteen.  Along with the developing friendship and trust between Beckett and Clare there is also the beginning of the renovation of the inn which becomes a central character in this trilogy. And, there is Lizzie. Lizzie is a ghost who haunts the inn and who seems to love the Montgomery boys.  Sweet, funny, tender, the love between Clare, Beckett, her boys, and the whole Montgomery family is delightful.

The Last Boyfriend is Book Two and this time it is middle brother Owen Montgomery and fiery Avery McTavish .  At six Owen gave Avery a Cracker Jack engagement ring and was her first boyfriend.  Both moved on to other relationships but always stayed close as friends. Now it seems they find themselves wondering what it would be like to take their friendship to a new level. While Book One laid down much of the ground work for the whole trilogy and introduced all the characters, this book looks at friendship and family. There’s the background story of Beckett’s and Clare’s wedding and the renovation of the inn. We also find out a bit more of Lizzie’s story and her love for her Billy for whom she is waiting. (There is a scene in this book that is priceless involving Owen and his mother that will make you laugh and cry at the same time.)

The Perfect Hope is Book Three and the story of oldest brother Ryder and Hope who has come to Boonsboro to be the innkeeper at the inn. Hope is best friends with Avery and Clare. She is also drop dead gorgeous, smart, and totally capable of holding her own with the often surly Ryder. From the first moment he met her, Ryder has been less than friendly to Hope who he thinks is just too perfect to be real.  Hope isn’t sure why he dislikes her so much, but she knows her heart stopped the first time she saw Ryder. Meanwhile the Inn at Boonsboro is thriving. Then, a past mistake turns up to haunt Hope which makes Ryder take a longer look at his innkeeper. Just maybe he has been all wrong about her. With a little help from friends, family, and Lizzie, Ryder and Hope will wrap up the love stories of Boonsboro.  (This book has not yet been released.)

* Roberts has used real businesses in Boonsboro for these stories. Avery’s pizza parlor - Vesta’s-is near the real Inn at Boonsboro as is Clare’s floral shop, the gift shop and the bookstore so detailed in the trilogy. Check out Roberts’ website at www.noraroberts.com to visit Boonsboro and see the real Inn at Boonsboro and the town. By the way, each suite in the Inn is named after a happy, fictional couple such as Tatiana and Oberon, Jane and Rochester, Nick and Nora, Elizabeth and Darcy, and the décor is done accordingly—just as it is written in the trilogy.