Category Archives: Crime Fiction

March 14, 2022 · 12:01 am

Review: The Chase by Candice Fox

Title: The Chase by Candice Fox
Publisher: Forge Books
Genre: Contemporary, Crime Fiction, Suspense
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

The Chase is a modern The Fugitive with characters only #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author Candice Fox can write.

“Are you listening, Warden?”
“What do you want?”
“I want you to let them out.”
“Which inmates are we talking about?”
“All of them.”

With that, the largest manhunt in United States history is on. In response to a hostage situation, more than 600 inmates from the Pronghorn Correctional Facility, including everyone on Death Row, are released into the Nevada Desert. Criminals considered the worst of the worst, monsters with dark, violent pasts, are getting farther away by the second.

John Kradle, convicted of murdering his wife and son, is one of the escapees. Now, desperate to discover what really happened that night, Kradle must avoid capture and work quickly to prove his innocence as law enforcement closes in on the fugitives.

Death Row Supervisor, and now fugitive-hunter, Celine Osbourne has focused all of her energy on catching Kradle and bringing him back to Death Row. She has very personal reasons for hating him – and she knows exactly where he’s heading…

At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Review:

Set in the Nevada desert, The Chase by Candice Fox is a thrilling crime drama that is quite engrossing.

A bold plan is set in motion to release all of the inmates from Pronghorn Correctional Facility by an unknown caller.  Warden Grace Stanter knows she has no choice but to follow the order if she does not want any innocent lives taken. Death Row Supervisor Celine Osbourne valiantly directs her subordinates to not set their inmates free. Defying her command, the convicted killers are allowed to leave with the rest of the prisoners. Celine is most concerned about ensuring John Cradle is quickly captured. But U.S. Marshall Trinity Parker is concentrating all of her energy on locating mass shooter Burke David Schmitz. Will either of them be successful?

Celine loathes John with every fiber of her being. He is convicted of murdering his wife and son but he has always proclaimed his innocence. Celine lives a solitary life and she is devoted to her job at Pronghorn. Although she is not in law enforcement, she is insistent they focus on Cradle. Her instincts are on track but will she find him and bring him back to prison?

John is adamant he did not kill his family and he is using this opportunity to find out who did. He has a plan at the ready and he successfully evades capture. With an unexpected (and unwelcome) sidekick, John finds stunning information that he hopes will lead to his family’s killer.

The Chase is a fast-paced crime drama that is full of suspense. Celine’s backstory is heartbreaking and explains a lot about who she is. Trinity expects her orders to be followed and she is very frustrated with Celine. John is industrious and single-minded as he searches for the person responsible for the death of his son and wife. Although there are numerous narrators, John’s and Celine’s chapters are the most compelling. With plenty of action, Candice Fox brings this tense crime drama to a highly satisfying conclusion.

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Filed under Candice Fox, Contemporary, Crime Fiction, Forge Books, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, The Chase

October 11, 2021 · 12:01 am

Review: The Missing Hours by Julia Dahl

Title: The Missing Hours by Julia Dahl
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Contemporary, Crime Fiction
Length: 288 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

From the critically acclaimed author of Invisible City and Conviction, The Missing Hours is a novel about obsession, privilege, and the explosive consequences of one violent act.

From a distance, Claudia Castro has it all: a famous family, a trust fund, thousands of Instagram followers, and a spot in NYU’s freshman class. But look closer, and things are messier: her parents are separating, she’s just been humiliated by a sleazy documentary, and her sister is about to have a baby with a man she barely knows.

Claudia starts the school year resolved to find a path toward something positive, maybe even meaningful – and then one drunken night everything changes. Reeling, her memory hazy, Claudia cuts herself off from her family, seeking solace in a new friendship. But when the rest of school comes back from spring break, Claudia is missing.

Suddenly, the whole city is trying to piece together the hours of that terrible night.

Review:

The Missing Hours by Julia Dahl is a compelling crime drama with an all too realistic storyline.

Claudia Castro is the privileged daughter of a wealthy family. She is a freshman at college and like many of her fellow students, she spends many evenings drinking and having fun. When spring break rolls around, Claudia is one of the few people who decide to remain on campus. After an evening out, she awakens with no memory of the night before. With a terrible hangover and a sense of dread, Claudia asks her dorm neighbor Trevor Barber to hang out with her. She also tries to piece together what happened to her. But what will she do once she learns the shocking truth?

Claudia and her sister Edie are close but she does not confide in her about what happened. Instead, she distances herself from her family as she tries to come to terms with the assault. Fearing she won’t get justice through regular channels, Claudia takes things into her owns in order to exact her own revenge.  Once everything gets to be too much for her, she vanishes. But does Trevor know where she is? And will Trevor remain loyal to Claudia after someone rich and powerful offers an incentive to him that would solve a lot of his problems?

The Missing Hours is an engrossing crime drama with a topical storyline. Despite her mistakes, Claudia is a sympathetic character whose dysfunctional family life makes her more relatable. Trevor’s reasons for being there for Claudia are not exactly altruistic at first. But after getting to know her better, he is all in when she devises a plan to ensure those who are attacked her pay for their actions. With a very unexpected plot twist late in the story, Julia Dahl brings this engaging crime drama to an unpredictable conclusion.

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Filed under Contemporary, Crime Fiction, Julia Dahl, Minotaur Books, Rated B, Review

May 4, 2020 · 11:57 pm

Review: The Poison Flood by Jordan Farmer

Title: The Poison Flood by Jordan Farmer
Publisher: G.P. Putnum’s Sons
Genre: Contemporary, Crime Fiction
Length: 288 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

A captivating, gritty, and tender story of a reclusive musician and the environmental disaster that threatens his small town and changes his life forever.

Hollis Bragg lives on the fringes. The hunchbacked son of a West Virginia hill preacher, he now resides in rural isolation next to the burned-out husk of his father’s church, and earns his living ghostwriting songs for a popular band that left the poverty and corruption of Appalachia and never looked back. It’s the life he prefers, free from the harsh glare of the spotlight and attachments that lead only to heartbreak.

Then, much to his consternation, he’s discovered by Russell Watson, a local musician and fan who also happens to be the rebellious son of the local chemical company magnate. When a devastating toxic spill at the Watson chemical plant poisons the local water, it sets off an unpredictable series of events as Hollis witnesses a murder, faces a shocking betrayal, and begins to come to terms with his body and his past. Soon Hollis will find that in losing his anonymity and reclaiming his music, he can transform his future; and in opening himself up to the world, he might find redemption.

Review:

The Poison Flood by Jordan Farmer is an atmospheric crime drama that is quite introspective.

Hollis Bragg lives alone in a dying West Virginia town.  Due to his severe hunchback, bullying and abuse from his father, Hollis suffers from low self-esteem despite his success as a songwriter and guitar player. Hollis is on the cusp of ending a deal with musician Angela Carver when he is recognized by Russell Watson who is the son of a wealthy chemical owner.  His uneasiness with Russell and his friend Victor Lawton  increases after Hollis meets photographer Rosita Martinez.  In the aftermath of a horrific chemical spill, Hollis comes face to face with his past.

Hollis is a gifted songwriter and guitar player who never quite felt comfortable in the limelight. At the first sign of trouble years earlier,  he returned to Coopersville, where he keeps a very low profile. Always expecting the worst when he meets someone for the first time, Hollis harbors doubts when he first meets Russell. Through Russell, he meets Rosita. Hollis is drawn to her yet he becomes  suspicious of her motives over the course of time.

The Poison Flood is a reflective novel that features colorful characters and a unique storyline. Hollis is a damaged yet well-drawn character who is ready to make changes in his life. The novel’s pacing is rather languid as Hollis wrestles with his past and present choices. Jordan Farmer brings this interesting novel to a satisfying conclusion. A thought-provoking story that I enjoyed and recommend to readers of the genre.

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Filed under Contemporary, Crime Fiction, GP Putnams Sons, Jordan Farmer, Rated B, Review, The Poison Flood

April 20, 2020 · 11:56 pm

Review: Pretty Things by Janelle Brown

Title: Pretty Things by Janelle Brown
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Contemporary, Crime Fiction
Length: 470 pages
Book Rating: C

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Two wildly different women—one a grifter, the other an heiress—are brought together by the scam of a lifetime in a page-turner from the New York Times bestselling author of Watch Me Disappear.

Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet.

Vanessa is a privileged young heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead she becomes an Instagram influencer—traveling the globe, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. But behind the covetable façade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family’s sprawling mountain estate, Stonehaven: a mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa’s past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina.

Nina’s, Vanessa’s, and Lachlan’s paths collide here, on the cold shores of Lake Tahoe, where their intertwined lives give way to a winter of aspiration and desire, duplicity and revenge.

This dazzling, twisty, mesmerizing novel showcases acclaimed author Janelle Brown at her best, as two brilliant, damaged women try to survive the greatest game of deceit and destruction they will ever play.

Review:

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown is an interesting crime novel with an intriguing premise.

After a chaotic childhood, Nina Ross worked hard to distance herself from her con artist mother, Lily. She went to college and after graduation, she took a job which she hoped when eventually lead to a lucrative career. But when her mom becomes ill, Nina returns home to help her through treatment. With medical bills piling up, Nina teams up with Lily’s friend, Lachlan and they begin robbing wealthy people in the area.  After their latest heist, she discovers her mother needs expensive medical treatment again. So, she and Lachlan head to Lake Tahoe where she plans to rob Vanessa Liebling, who comes from a family with whom Nina has an unhappy, tangled history.

Nina and Lachlan carefully set up fake identities in order to inveigle their way into Vanessa’s life. Nina has insider information that should result in a huge payday for them.  She and Lily once lived in Lake Tahoe and Nina shared an unexpectedly close friendship with Vanessa’s brother, Bennie. Their relationship ended badly and she and Lily rapidly left Tahoe behind.  Now, Nina has a two-fold reason for targeting Vanessa-revenge and a huge payday.

Vanessa has recently retreated to her family’s home in Lake Tahoe after dropping out of her Instagram-influencer “career” following her father’s death.  She is mourning her loss while she half-heartedly attempts to rebrand herself on Instagram. Now renting out the caretaker’s cottage on her property, Vanessa is desperately lonely and eager for her new renters to arrive.

Despite their careful planning, Nina and Lachlan’s scheme is off to a rocky start and after a couple of shocking discoveries, Nina finds herself in deep trouble. Unbeknownst to her, Lachlan is running his own scheme to score big.  How will Nina react when she learns what he is doing in Lake Tahoe?

Alternating between Nina and Vanessa’ points of view, Pretty Things starts off strong but soon gets bogged down in tediously long flashbacks. None of the characters are particularly likable and betrayals lurk around every corner.  After the halfway point, a few unanticipated plot twists liven up the slow pacing and  Janelle Brown brings the novel to a surprising conclusion.

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Filed under Contemporary, Crime Fiction, Janelle Brown, Pretty Things, Random House, Rated C, Review

August 1, 2018 · 11:57 pm

Review: Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood

Title: Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Historical (40s & 50s), Crime Fiction
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Camden, NJ, 1948. When 11 year-old Sally Horner steals a notebook from the local Woolworth’s, she has no way of knowing that 52 year-old Frank LaSalle, fresh out of prison, is watching her, preparing to make his move. Accosting her outside the store, Frank convinces Sally that he’s an FBI agent who can have her arrested in a minute—unless she does as he says.

This chilling novel traces the next two harrowing years as Frank mentally and physically assaults Sally while the two of them travel westward from Camden to San Jose, forever altering not only her life, but the lives of her family, friends, and those she meets along the way.

Based on the experiences of real-life kidnapping victim Sally Horner and her captor, whose story shocked the nation and inspired Vladimir Nabokov to write his controversial and iconic Lolita, this heart-pounding story by award-winning author T. Greenwood at last gives a voice to Sally herself.

Review:

Set in 1948, Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood is a heartrending fictionalized novel based on the real life kidnapping of Sally Horner.

After seeing a group of girls become “blood sisters”,  shy and friendless eleven year old Sally Horner agrees their “initiation” to their club. Despite her qualms about getting caught, Sally steals a composition notebook from Woolworth’s. She is caught leaving the store by a man claiming to be an FBI agent who tells her she is under arrest. Unbeknownst to Sally, he is in actuality, a recently released ex-convict  named Frank LeSalle. In an effort to spare her widowed mother, Ella, the truth about her “crime”, Sally convinces her mom that Frank is taking her on a family vacation to Atlantic City with her daughter’s classmate. Ella has no reason to doubt the veracity of his story and she leaves Sally with Frank at the local bus station. Thus begins Sally’s harrowing ordeal at the hands of a skillful manipulator who is also a child predator.

Sally is a lonely young girl who does not want to upset or disappoint her mother after Frank catches her stealing. She naively believes everything he tells her and although she picks up on puzzling inconsistencies in his explanations, she blindly follows his instructions.  When she does ask questions, Sally’s punishment is swift and violent. In a desperate attempt to return home, she inadvertently sets in motion their relocation to Baltimore.

In Baltimore, Sally continues to suffer horrific abuse yet Frank inexplicably enrolls her in school. He frightens her into keeping silent about their home life and she follows his order to the letter. Sally’s teacher, Sister Mary Katherine, instinctively realizes something is amiss with the young girl and she keeps a close eye on her new student. Yet when she finally decides to take action, Frank once again evades capture as he escapes with Sally and moves to Dallas, TX.

Now living in a trailer court, Sally remains firmly under Frank’s control while she forms a close bond with their neighbor Ruth. Unable to have children, Ruth spends many hours with Sally. It does not take long for suspicions to arise about what is going on in the trailer next door, but will Ruth be able to save the frightened young girl?

Rust & Stardust  is a truly captivating novel that deals with some very difficult subject matter. The dark and distressing storyline is relieved by genuine moments of true compassion and caring from the people whose lives are touched by Sally’s plight. This intricately plotted novel is loosely based on real life events and T. Greenwood brings this long forgotten crime vibrantly and sensitively to life. I highly recommend this tragic yet fascinating re-imagining of a horrific crime.

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Filed under Crime Fiction, Historical, Historical (40s), Historical (50s), Rated B+, Review, Rust & Stardust, St Martin's Press, T Greenwood