Blood Rain in Trieste by George Henry made me think of Casblanca and Humphrey Bogart. I wonder…did Bogie ever visit Trieste, Italy?
MY REVIEW
Sounds like shades of Casablanca and Bogie made a trip to Trieste, Italy and ran into Hawaii Five-O.
Milo Marchetta is a musician, a club owner…in walks a dame, only this one wants to hire him to commit a murder.
Mobsters, hookers, money laundering, murder and bullies. What more could you ask for? Small men acting big. Walking a line between life and death. The characters are not prim and proper. I love flawed characters, but these characters are past flawed. They are desperate, twisted individuals, the dregs of humanity.
Milo has a big mouth and a penchant for putting his foot in it, or should I say someone else’s foot. Flawed…he is twisted, broken. As he gets his ass and a bunch of other things kicked…I can’t help but laugh. Even when he tries to do something good it craps on him. He’s so friggin’ damaged I don’t know how he’s still alive.
Forbidden love…the ultimate price…death.
There is so much going on, double cross, triple cross, revenge, betrayal, murder…don’t look away. You might miss something.
This was heavy, slow reading for me. It felt like work, like I was studying for school. Normally, this would be right up my alley, so I wonder, was I having an off day? You’ll need to judge for yourself.
3 Stars
OMG..Alexandra Sokoloff did it again in Bitter Moon, Book IV in the Huntress/FBI Thriller series.
MY REVIEW
I had received several books of this series and loved them so much, I binge read all three. So apt this book comes after the others. I think I got a lot more from it, because I am totally engrossed in how Cara came to be a vigilante.
In Bitter Moon, Cara relives her tragic past and it is brutal, horrifying, terrifying, and haunting. The insight into her motivation makes me see evil in its purest form. It’s no wonder she takes her revenge as a vigilante on all the users and abusers. The atrocities committed on defenseless children by family, friends, strangers, they need a guardian angel and Cara will fight to her dying breath for herself and for them.
Roarke has walked away from the FBI because of his conflicted feelings about her. He is lost, isolated, confused…As he tries to find answers for himself, Roarke tracks her past. He walks where she walked, meeting some people she knew, gaining insight. The nun simplified if for him, he is on a mission.
Can evil be drawn to a particular person? Can someone attract the bad through no fault of their own?
It is frightening and horrifying as I read of her past and know these things really happen, that the depravity of humans are going on right now. I am at a loss for words with an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.
I love Cara and don’t know how she can have a happy ever after, but I so much want it for here. If any character I have ever read about deserves something good in her life, Cara does. She is dogged by evil, she never quits, never gives up, willing to take them out one by one.
She runs from IT, but IT follows here everywhere she goes.
Monsters are real!
Research? If half of what Alexandra Sokoloff has written about rape and trafficking, the women and children, throwaway kids, the predatory people out there is true, we should all be afraid. It may be easier to turn the other way, but you never know when EVIL might come for you.
I had wondered if there would be more, because the rest of Cara and Roarke’s story needs to be told, and I am so happy to know…there is.
There are so many great quotes, that I had to share a few of them.
“Look too long into the abyss and the abyss looks back into you.”
“Fear the wolf, or be the wolf.”
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” John Stuart Millshad
Alexandra Sokoloff had me wound so tight, I felt like I would explode. My emotions were all over the place and I did breathe a sigh of relief…and regret…when I was done. The characters have captured my heart and I miss them as soon as I close the ‘cover’. Stay safe everyone, I’ll be back.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Bitter Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff and these novels will be sitting on my reread shelf!!!!
5 Stars
MY REVIEW LINKS FOR ALEXANDRA SOKOLOF
I love these gorgeous covers.
Book Details
Book Title: Twofer Murder by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult fiction, 400 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: November 17, 2017
Available for review in: Print, ebook (mobi, ePub, PDF) & audiobook (Audible)
Will send books: USA & Canada
Tour dates: Dec 4, 2017 to Jan 19, 2018
MY REVIEW
Hi guys. Good to be back with ya. Who’s gonna get murdered in this adventure? Hi Gnarly, good to see you too. What kind of shenanigans are you and your cohorts getting up to? Let’s pull up a chair, pour a cuppa and have a chat at Spencer Manor in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. We won’t be staying long, so don’t get too comfortable.
Mac and Archie’s dialogue about the fishing trip had me cracking up from the opening pages and I knew I was in for one hell of a good time. Lauren Carr has created a cast of characters that are complex and fully developed, with large personalities. Even the dogs, have distinct, strong personalities.
The sexes are splitting up, the guys going fishing and the gals are spending the weekend at a murder mystery writers seminar. Neither trip will go as planned and there is plenty of murder and mystery to go around.
The dialogue is witty and hilarious.
“Boy, we’re not even there yet and I can feel the male bonding happening already,” David muttered under his breath.
“I’m warning all of you,” Mac said, “anyone who starts crying gets shot.”
Boys will be boys, even when they are grown men.
The incidents with the cheese puffs is a mystery in itself. Gnarly is a kleptomaniac, so he is a prime suspect.
I couldn’t control myself when Storm…and, of course, Gnarly thinks everything is hunky dory. He’s an instigator, creating mischief and he feels okay about it. His antics have me laughing out loud. So much fun, so many laughs.
The babysitter for the tarantula, Monique, has to cancel, so she goes with ladies. After all, even a spider enjoys a vacation.
I love Sarah. One hundred and ten pounds soaking wet, can kick some ass, and has the heart of a vice cop. She can clean up good, but prefers the rough and tumble. I can relate to her.
These ladies can hold their own, but when Dallas finally figured out who the lounge singer, Natalie Drumond was, she knew there would be murder. It didn’t go quite the way she thought.
And the fishermen…This fishing tale is a whopper. And this is so good, I can’t say anything more about it. It’s just too good to spoil it for you.
Jessica and Nate spend a lot of time texting each other. I can see her…and it…happening, unreeling like a film in my mind. I can even see Cameron…Now, that’s some great writing, bringing the action in vivid detail to a realistic standard.
So much going on. The mysteries, with long lists of suspects, kept me guessing. My brain got tired of trying to unravel them, so I quickly flipped through the pages to let the characters wrap it up for me.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Twofer Murder by Lauren Carr.
5 Stars
Enter the giveaway and read more here.
A Fine Year For Murder is not my first foray into Lauren Carr’s Thorny Rose Mystery series and I am sure it will not be the last.
That being said…let’s get to the good part. Keep on reading for my review and the great giveaway at the end of the post.
MY REVIEW
A Fine Year For Murder by Lauren Carr is part of an ongoing mystery series that has many recurring characters, both human and animal, that I have grown to love.
These Thorny Rose mysteries stand alone, but you won’t want to miss any of them.
Jessica kicks, punches and scratches her new husband during her nightmares.
She is haunted…until Dallas Walker, an investigative journalist, helps her discover what has been causing her nightmares and refuses to allow her rest until she has the answers.
Nigel is a virtual butler. I love how Lauren Carr keeps her characters and their lives up to date, allowing them to grow and develop along with the world around them.
Newman is a lazy basset hound that likes to eat in the recliner while binge watching TV. LOL But he is not the only critter that has a special and humorous relationship with his human counterparts.
Mysteries, murder, danger, and memories that threatens their lives keeps the action and suspense at a high level and even when the answers are found, it left me wanting more.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of A Fine Year For Murder by Lauren Carr.
4 Stars
Enter the $100 GC Giveaway HERE.
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