Category Archives: Minotaur Books

February 15, 2022 · 12:01 am

Review: The Deepest of Secrets by Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Deepest of Secrets by Kelley Armstrong
A Rockton Novel
Casey Duncan Series Book Seven
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspese
Length: 345 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

#1 New York Times bestseller Kelley Armstrong returns to the captivating town of Rockton in The Deepest of Secrets, the next installment in one of the most imaginative crime series on shelves today.

“This is a series that covers all the bases.” St. Louis Post Dispatch

It’s not always easy to live in the hidden town of Rockton, something Detective Casey Duncan knows firsthand. Tucked away in the Yukon wilderness, the community survives—and thrives—because the residents’ many secrets stay just that—secret.

But what happens when these secrets start to come out? Overnight, no one is safe. It’s not a question of if your secret will come out—but when.

Casey and her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, need to find the culprit while protecting those who have been thrust into the spotlight. For a place built on privacy and new beginnings, Rockton isn’t handling these revelations very well. People are turning on one another, and when one of the loudest complainers turns up barely alive, it’s clear that their trickster is actually a murderer.

The threat of exposure is reaching its breaking point, and no one knows what’s going to happen next.

Review:

The Deepest of Secrets by Kelley Armstrong is a spellbinding mystery that is also a little bittersweet. Although this newest release is the seventh novel in the Casey Duncan/Rockton series, it can be read as a standalone. However, I highly recommend the previous mysteries in the series.

Detective Casey Duncan and her common law husband Sheriff Eric Dalton have been certain the remote town council is planning to shut down Rockton. While waiting for the announcement, they, along with Deputy Will Anders and a few other townspeople, are making contingency plans for what they will do in the aftermath. In the midst of their concern about their future, someone is attempting to make trouble for Will. In a town with people hiding the truth about their pasts and identities, Will’s secret has just been revealed. With the residents taking sides, Casey sets out to find out not just who, but how, this person uncovered the truth. And she hopes to prevent anymore revelations that will divide the town and sow distrust of those in charge of keeping the peace.

Casey’s mind is whirling with worries as she begins her investigation. She is already aware that information about the residents is kept tightly under wraps. Will’s past is known to a select few, so she methodically begins questioning people who appear to be deliberately trying to raise doubts about her, Eric and Will. In the aftermath of a break in at Will’s place, Casey’s beloved dog, Storm, leads her to her first suspect.

The Deepest of Secrets is a clever mystery set in the wilds of Canada’s Yukon Territory.  Casey, Eric and Will are fighting hidden enemies both in Rockton and the distant town council. Throughout the investigation, the possibility of  the town closing looms large. Although the council is uninterested in finding the person or persons responsible for the revelations and unexpected violence, Casey continues trying to uncover the truth. Alongside shifting loyalties within the town, Casey and Eric are relentless as they attempt to complete their investigation. With one final edge of the seat scene, Kelley Armstrong brings this final installment in the Casey Duncan/Rockton series to a thrilling conclusion.

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Filed under Casey Duncan Series, Contemporary, Kelley Armstrong, Minotaur Books, Mystery, Rated B+, Review, Rockton Series, Suspense, The Deepest of Secrets

February 14, 2022 · 12:02 am

Review: Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz

Title: Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz
Orphan X Series Book Seven
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Contemporary, Action, Suspense
Length: 422 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Gregg Hurwitz’s New York Times bestselling series returns when Orphan X faces his most challenging mission ever in Dark Horse.

Evan Smoak is a man with many identities and a challenging past. As Orphan X, he was a government assassin for the off-the-books Orphan Program. After he broke with the Program, he adopted a new name and a new mission–The Nowhere Man, helping the most desperate in their times of trouble. Having just survived an attack on his life and the complete devastation of his base of operations, as well as his complicated (and deepening) relationship with his neighbor Mia Hall, Evan isn’t interested in taking on a new mission. But one finds him anyway.

Aragon Urrea is a kingpin of a major drug-dealing operation in South Texas. He’s also the patron of the local area–supplying employment in legitimate operations, providing help to the helpless, rough justice to the downtrodden, and a future to a people normally with little hope. He’s complicated–a not completely good man, who does bad things for often good reasons. However, for all his money and power, he is helpless when one of the most vicious cartels kidnaps his innocent eighteen year old daughter, spiriting her away into the armored complex that is their headquarters in Mexico. With no other way to rescue his daughter, he turns to The Nowhere Man.

Now not only must Evan figure out how to get into the impregnable fortress of a heavily armed, deeply paranoid cartel leader, but he must decide if he should help a very bad man–no matter how just the cause.

Review:

Dark Horse by Gregg Hurwitz is a multi-layered novel that is full of tension. Although this latest release is the seventh installment in the Orphan X series, it can be read as a standalone. However, I recommend all of the novels in this terrific series.

Evan Smoak’s latest adventure as The Nowhere Man involves infiltrating a drug cartel in order to rescue Aragón Urrea’s eighteen-year-old daughter Angelina. Evan wrestles with his conscience before agreeing to work for Urrea since he is an “unconventional businessman” who is also on the wrong side of the law.  Evan is surprised by how much he likes Aragón but The Nowhere Man will walk away if his prospective client does not agree to his terms. They are sometimes locked in a battle of wills, but Urrea’s love for his daughter means he will do anything to ensure her safe return.

Since Evan is far from home, he relies heavily on Joey Morales’ mad computer skills for a deep dive on Urrea and the cartel leader, Raul “The Dark Man” Montesco. Evan bluffs his way into Montesco’s trust but rescuing Angelina will be a delicate operation with little room for error. He comes up with an audacious but extremely dangerous plan to bring Angelina safely back home.

Evan is at odds with Joey who wants to stretch her wings but only with his approval. He is also very worried about his neighbor and romantic interest, Mia Hall. Evan does not want to make promises he cannot keep nor does he want to become even more emotionally involved with her and her wonderful nine-year-old son Peter. Despite the danger he is facing while rescuing Angelina, he is quite reflective about his personal life. Will what he discovers about himself help Evan make a decision about Mia and Peter during an unexpected crisis?

Dark Horse is a thrilling novel that is action-packed. Evan puts the skills he learned from his mentor and the Orphan program to good use during his daring rescue attempt. He and the regular cast of characters retain their appeal as they continue to grow and evolve.  The secondary characters are well-developed even though many of them are impossible to like. With Evan’s bold rescue plant set into motion, Gregg Hurwitz brings this nerve-wracking novel to a bloody yet satisfying conclusion. The jaw-dropping epilogue will leave old and new fans of the Orphan X series impatiently awaiting the next installment.

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Filed under Action, Contemporary, Dark Horse, Gregg Hurwitz, Minotaur Books, Rated B+, Review, Suspense

February 3, 2022 · 12:01 am

Review: A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

Title: A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Contemporary, Psychological Thriller
Length: 356 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

When Chloe Davis was twelve, six teenage girls went missing in her small Louisiana town. By the end of the summer, her own father had confessed to the crimes and was put away for life, leaving Chloe and the rest of her family to grapple with the truth and try to move forward while dealing with the aftermath.

Now twenty years later, Chloe is a psychologist in Baton Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. While she finally has a fragile grasp on the happiness she’s worked so hard to achieve, she sometimes feels as out of control of her own life as the troubled teens who are her patients. So when a local teenage girl goes missing, and then another, that terrifying summer comes crashing back. Is she paranoid, seeing parallels from her past that aren’t actually there, or for the second time in her life, is Chloe about to unmask a killer?

From debut author Stacy Willingham comes a masterfully done, lyrical thriller, certain to be the launch of an amazing career. A Flicker in the Dark is eerily compelling to the very last page.

Review:

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham is an enthralling psychological thriller.

Twenty years after her father pleaded guilty to murdering six teenage girls, thirty-two-year-old Chloe Davis is a self-medicating psychologist. She is engaged to marry pharmaceutical salesman Daniel Briggs and she remains close to her brother, Cooper. Chloe is dragging her feet finalizing plans for her upcoming wedding when she is contacted by a reporter writing an anniversary piece about her father. The memories of her father’s crimes have been simmering under the surface and when a teenager girl goes missing, Chloe is overwhelmed by anxiety.  She becomes suspicious of people around her and her apprehension grows after she hears about another missing teen. Is there a copycat murdering teenage girls? Is the killer someone Chloe knows?

Chloe is incredibly distracted and uneasy as her life begins to spiral out of control. Daniel is gone a lot more than usual and she is not sleeping well. After she learns of the first missing teenager, Chloe makes a spontaneous decision that could come back to haunt her. She continues self-medicating and she is making some pretty wild assumptions without much evidence to back up her theories. As doubts begin to assail her, Chloe is determined to find out the truth about a loved one and she puts herself in increasingly dangerous situations.

A Flicker in the Dark is a fast-paced and engrossing psychological thriller. Chloe is a sympathetic character who questions how well she and her fiancé really know each other. Daniel is very solicitous but he is gone when Chloe needs him most. Cooper loves his sister but even he thinks is making mistakes she might regret.   The storyline is captivating and fully holds the reader’s attention. With clever red herrings and misdirects, Stacy Willingham brings this finely crafted debut to an edge of the seat conclusion.

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Filed under A Flicker in the Dark, Contemporary, Minotaur Books, Psychological Thriller, Rated B+, Stacy Willingham

December 16, 2021 · 12:02 am

Review: The Witching Tree by Alice Blanchard

Title: The Witching Tree by Alice Blanchard
Natalie Lockhart Series Book Three
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating:

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Welcome to Burning Lake, a small, isolated town with a dark history of witches and false accusations. Now, a modern-day witch has been murdered, and Detective Natalie Lockhart is reluctantly drawn deep into the case, in this atmospheric mystery from Alice Blanchard, The Witching Tree.

As legend has it, if you carve your deepest desire into the bark of a Witch Tree, then over time as the tree grows, it will swallow the carvings until only a witch can read them.

Until now.

Detective Natalie Lockhart gained unwanted notoriety when she and her family became front and center of not one, but two sensational murder cases. Now she’s lost her way. Burned out and always looking over her shoulder, Natalie desperately thinks that quitting the police force is her only option left.

All that changes when a beloved resident—a practicing Wiccan and founder of the town’s oldest coven—is killed in a fashion more twisted and shocking than Natalie has ever seen before, leaving the town reeling. Natalie has no choice but to help solve the case along with Detective Luke Pittman, her boss and the old childhood friend she cannot admit she loves, even to herself. There is a silent, malignant presence in Burning Lake that will not rest. And what happens next will shock the whole town, and Natalie, to the core.

Review:

The Witching Tree by Alice Blanchard is a riveting mystery that is incredibly fast-paced.

Detective Natalie Lockhart is unofficially living with her wealthy boyfriend Hunter Rose. After being the center of intense media coverage during her previous cases, she is considering her future as a police officer. With a looming deadline approaching for her decision, Natalie puts her career choice on the backburner when well-liked Wiccan Veronica Manes is murdered in a particularly horrific manner. Her boss, Lieutenant Detective Luke Pittman, puts her in a secondary role during the investigation. Natalie works long hours as she follows the evidence she hopes will lead to Veronica’s killer.

Burning Lake, NY has a long history steeped in witchcraft so Natalie begins with the two predominant covens in town. The members are helpful but no one is aware of anyone who would want to harm Veronica. Natalie turns her attention to the town lore about the infamous Witching Tree and she finds a puzzling detail. But does this discovery have anything to do with Veronica’s murder?

Another possible lead involves a pair of drifters who recently skipped out on paying the local minister their back rent. Natalie is very uneasy about what she uncovers at the abandoned home. Searching for information about the couple, she unearths a startling link that takes the case in a possibly new direction.

The Witching Tree is an absolutely engrossing mystery with a well-executed storyline. Natalie is at a crossroads in both her professional and personal lives but she is unable to make a decision about either of them. Veronica’s murder investigation consumes her as she follows each piece of evidence no matter where it takes her. With stunning plot twists and clever red herrings, Alice Blanchard brings this suspense-laden mystery to a shocking conclusion. The cliff-hanger ending and unanswered questions will leave readers very impatiently awaiting the next installment in the Natalie Lockhart series.

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Filed under Alice Blanchard, Contemporary, Minotaur Books, Mystery, Natalie Lockhart Series, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, The Witching Tree

November 15, 2021 · 12:02 am

Review: These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant

Title: These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense
Length: 288 pages
Book Rating: A

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

A father and daughter living in the remote Appalachian mountains must reckon with the ghosts of their past in Kimi Cunningham Grant’s These Silent Woods, a mesmerizing novel of suspense.

No electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world.

For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that’s exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he’s got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness. But she’s starting to push back against the sheltered life Cooper has created for her—and he’s still haunted by the painful truth of what it took to get them there.

The only people who know they exist are a mysterious local hermit named Scotland, and Cooper’s old friend, Jake, who visits each winter to bring them food and supplies. But this year, Jake doesn’t show up, setting off an irreversible chain of events that reveals just how precarious their situation really is. Suddenly, the boundaries of their safe haven have blurred—and when a stranger wanders into their woods, Finch’s growing obsession with her could put them all in danger. After a shocking disappearance threatens to upend the only life Finch has ever known, Cooper is forced to decide whether to keep hiding—or finally face the sins of his past.

Vividly atmospheric and masterfully tense, These Silent Woods is a poignant story of survival, sacrifice, and how far a father will go when faced with losing it all.

Review:

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant is an atmospheric novel that is emotionally compelling.

Cooper and his eight-year-old daughter Finch live off the grid in a cabin nestled in woods. Coop is an Army veteran whose tours in Afghanistan have left inner scars. His transition back into the civilian is aided by his longtime crush and friend Cindy Loveland. As friendship deepens into love, Cooper struggles with PTSD. In the aftermath of terrible loss, Coop is left in an untenable position and he does what it takes to keep him and his daughter together.

Retreating to his army buddy Jake’s cabin, Cooper and Finch live a surprisingly idyllic life that is only marred by his distrust of his nearest neighbor Scotland. Jake’s failure to show for his yearly supply drop is just the first of unexpected changes for Cooper and Finch. Cooper’s risky but necessary decision to briefly go into town results in worrying consequences for their continued ability to keep their identities hidden.

Despite his mistakes, Cooper is a caring, decent man who is very hard on himself. He is a quiet man who mostly lives in the moment. He is very patient with Finch as she chatters and asks him hard questions. Cooper is trying to be the best father he can and his bond with his daughter is palpable. He remains suspicious of Scotland who keeps a closer eye on them than Coop would like. But Finch loves the hermit and Scotland cherishes their friendship.

An unanticipated visitor gives Cooper a glimpse of what life could be if he had not made the missteps that brought them to the cabin.  When a shocking event brings more people into his orbit, Cooper is faced with untenable choice that could be bring peace to one family while destroying another. He is forced to take a hard look at himself and decide whether or not he can live with himself if he does not do what is right. But will Cooper be able to take that final step in his own probable downfall?

These Silent Woods is a riveting novel of love and grace. Cooper is a well-drawn character who is deeply flawed but he is surprisingly appealing. He carries the heavy weight of his tortured past but his love for Finch is pure. Finch is a precocious and loving with a natural curiosity for the world around her. Scotland is eccentric yet caring and does not let Cooper’s antipathy deter him form looking out for them. The storyline is unique with Cooper’s secrets slowly unfolding throughout the novel. After Coop makes a heartbreaking yet morally right decision, Kimi Cunningham Grant brings this captivating story to a heartfelt, fraught conclusion.

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Filed under Contemporary, Kimi Cunningham Grant, Minotaur Books, Rated A, Review, Suspense, These Silent Woods

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