Upcoming Releases - Reviews

Dee Reads and Reviews👍👎

A couple of blogs ago, I mentioned several of my favorite mystery series were dropping new books this fall.  I was so excited and lucky to add three of them to my TBR for September.  I read all three in the first week of the month, record time for me.  If my reading speed is any indication these new books should be smokin'.🤣

Five Super Stars

I got my eager hands on #4 in the Detective Inspector Matthew Venn Series last week and simply devoured it - all in one day.  It is a five star, two huge thumbs up of a mystery.  

"Ann Cleeves you have outdone yourself!  I must admit I've never read any of the Vera Stanhope Series or, for that matter, any of Ms. Cleeves' other work.  However, after finishing The Dying Light, I have read all the Matthew Venn books and am looking forward to many more.  Thank you Net Galley and Minotaur Books for this wonderful book and the opportunity to offer my thoughts and a big round of applause.

Once again, DI Matthew Venn finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation with a wealth of complications and suspects.  It's a whirlwind of political intrigue, smalltown politics, and teenage emotional angst that confronts Venn when he and his team step into a double murder.  Although Venn, Rafferty, and Ross are up to the task, some of the same interpersonal issues as in the earlier books are still at play.  For instance, Venn's own insecurity and doubt, Rafferty's feelings of not being quite good enough personally and professionally, and Ross still running his mouth when not appropriate. Though, in the end, they solve the murders and an unexpected left turn of a crime.  

Venn is an exceptional detective with a quiet and thoughtful manner, very well depicted.  He is unfailingly careful with suspects and witnesses alike.  That is one of the slight of hand ways in which he is able to elicit confessions.  His team has already learned much from him, but there is still more to do in order to hone their individual techniques.

On character note, Matthew and his husband, Jonathan, seem very different personalities, however, this book revealed both of them to be troubled by the tendency to assume or jump to conclusions.  Both done without a complete set of facts and an open mind.  They are much more alike than we were probably first lead to believe.  I'm anxious to see how this trait develops in future books."

Three, Somewhat Disappointed, Stars.

I'm happy and thankful to have received an ARC of Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite #12.  I had high hopes for this one, as I've come to love Tracy, her colleagues, friends, and family.  For a reason I'm not certain I can fully define, #12 was a bit of a disappointment to me.  Maybe this review will help me explain.

"I’ve read them all, from 1-12, and enjoyed walking with Tracy as she's grown in her personal life and professional career. Now that her daughter is five years old, Tracy is starting to question whether she continues her life and career as is, or takes a different road to her family’s betterment. I think there’s a book yet to come where her decision will be revealed.  I trust Mr. Dugoni to deliver whatever Tracy decides with skill and caring.  I believe the unsettledness seemingly present in Tracy's life at this time, was unsettling and difficult for me to take in.  That was probably part of my less than stellar feelings about One Split Second.  

Whatever she may be contemplating, Tracy was deeply involved in helping her longtime friend, Jenny Almond, out of a possible bad shooting situation. While knee deep in that investigation, Tracy wades through  another cold case, an over 40 old murder.  As she tends to do,  Tracy gets herself in a tight spot, but ultimately solves both cases. 

I’m interested in seeing how Dugoni moves Tracy’s life forward. Expecting major changes in #13."

Four Shiny Stars

I've read many of the Kendra Elliot books in all her various series.  I've also enjoyed some that she has co-written with Melinda Leigh.  Always great characters and a deeply perplexing mystery.  Until She Dies is no exception.  

"Detective Noelle Marshall and FBI Agent Max Rhodes, professional partners and more, come together to locate and arrest a serial killer.  The search is on after a mass burial site is located by a search and rescue dog (handled by a character from another Elliot book, Rowan and her dog Thor).  The solution to this case appears to rest with the only survivor of this killer who is still living with the ever-present fear of him finding her.  

Marshall's and Rhodes' lives and this investigation become further complicated when Noelle's "ward" from a previous case, Emma, becomes more involved in the search than anyone anticipated.

As you can see, there are characters that peel off and carry over from preceding books.  That's one of the main elements that I particularly enjoy about Elliot's writing.  She never leaves a character hanging or a clue dangling.  Can she put it all together in this case?  You need to read Until She Dies.  I guarantee you won't be disappointed!"

There you have it, three excellent choices if you're a mystery reader, especially if you're a lover of "series mysteries".  Ann Cleaves, Robert Dugoni, and Kendra Elliot never miss.