Review: HER DEADLY TOUCH by Lisa Regan

Today’s post highlights a new thriller from the talented Lisa Regan – Her Deadly Touch (Detective Josie Quinn Book 12). I have read and enjoyed several of the books in this series and was lucky enough to get a review copy from NetGalley.

Description*

The woman is kneeling at a gravestone, her hair blowing in the breeze, a bunch of wilting yellow daffodils on the grass beside her. Her eyes are fixed on the ground and her mouth is parted in a silent prayer. But the wax dripping from her cold blue lips means it’s already too late to save her…

On her first day back with the Denton PD after a major trauma, Detective Josie Quinn is on the hunt for a missing woman, Krystal Duncan, the mother of one of five children killed in a devastating school bus crash. Hours later, Josie finds Krystal’s body beside her daughter’s grave, her lips sealed together forever with wax.

Forensics match the wax to one of the candles lit in memory of the sweet little souls who died, giving Josie her first lead to a support group made up of the parents who lost children in the crash. Painstakingly dissecting the lives of these grieving couples, it’s clear to Josie that each of them is hiding something about the day of the accident—but whose secret is worth killing for?

The case takes an agonizing turn when the body of another young mother is found near the site of the bus crash. Someone connected to the accident is out for revenge. As the members of the support group are picked off one by one, every second counts for Josie to save the lives of these loving parents who have already suffered the loss of those they treasured most…

* from Amazon book page for Her Deadly Touch

My Review

Josie is back in another well-paced thriller/police-procedural mystery. Returning to work after extended leave following her grandmother’s murder, Josie’s first case is a challenging one that involves multiple persons of interest and potential next victims. I admit I had a bit of trouble keeping track of all the characters (dead and alive) at first – there are a lot of them – however they soon sort out, so it was worth it. As the investigation proceeds, an intricate web of secrets emerges – all centered around the events leading up to a fatal school bus crash two years prior. Unexpected plot twists and dead bodies pop up around each corner, making for a suspense-filled read.

FTC disclosure: I received an advance review copy of this book. This has not affected the content of my review.

Review & Giveaway: THE PUPPET MASTER by Ronald S. Barak

As part of a blog tour organized by Silver Dagger Book Tours, I jumped at the chance to read Ronald Barak’s latest thriller- The Puppet Master.  The Puppet  Master is a prequel to  The Amendment Killer, an excellent novel, which I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing when it was released (click here to read that review).

Description

What would YOU do if they took everything you had, your family, your home, your business, your dignity, even—perhaps—your sanity? Ronald S. Barak’s latest, The Puppet Master, prequel to The Amendment Killer, and the second in the Brooks/Lotello Thriller Series, is a gripping story of a political system gone awry—and those who feel compelled to fix it. “Have you ever killed anyone? I have. I’ll do it again. If I need to.” Three prominent political leaders in Washington, D.C., murdered in as many days.

Not a plausible story premise? What about the real world villain who recently mailed a series of pipe bombs to a number of prominent political figures? Ripped from the headlines? Barak gives new meaning to the word “timely.” The Puppet Master isn’t ripped from the headlines; written first, it forecast the headlines that followed!

The Puppet Master begins with a bang. Literally. Three of them. Not a page wasted. Capitol Hill panics. Who will be next? Others whisper that our political leaders are only getting what they deserve. Anxious to see who will be next. And why.

Crafty D.C. homicide detective Frank Lotello is tasked to find the killer. Cliff Norman, a local businessman with ample motive, is arrested. Politicians breathe a sigh of relief. However, when Lotello discovers a disturbing White House connection, he suspects Norman may not be what he appears to be. Things may not be what they appear to be.

Norman’s trial commences in the courtroom of savvy D.C. trial court judge Cyrus Brooks. An angry nation rallies behind Norman. The jury debates whether Norman’s actions may be legally justified by a rampant abuse of political trust, and threatens to unravel the very fabric of our dysfunctional government.

In an unprecedented and questionable manner that may destroy their respective careers, Lotello quietly approaches Brooks and they form a secret alliance to uncover the truth in this classic whodunnit mystery. Before it’s too late.

Blurring fiction and reality, The Puppet Master will have you dangling from the first page to the very last.

You can view the book trailer at: https://youtu.be/J9aV5pMUKC8.

Buy Links:

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KVQ8FMQ
• Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-puppet-master/id1456050192
• B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-puppet-master-ronald-s-barak/1130005295?ean=2940156509393
• Google: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-puppet-master-19

My Review

I enjoyed following  Detective Lotello as he persists in investigating the murder of three high-profile politicans – despite the confession of a bitter, broken man with a grudge.  The story is told from alternating points of view in short chapters, giving you a sense of what each of the players is going through and their deliberations, yet without being too confusing to follow.   Both Lotello and Judge Brooks are great characters – human and relatable.

The story is engaging and well-paced, while raising controversial questions regarding the potential for broader application  of the justifiable homicide defense in the courts – when does it become reasonable to take the law into your own hands?  Definitely thought-provoking stuff.

A well-written choice for fans of political thrillers and police procedurals.

FTC Disclosure:   I received a complimentary ARC of this book as part of this blog tour. This has not affected the content of my review in any way.

Giveaway and More

Follow the tour for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and enter the Thriller Junkies  giveaway for your chance to win an e-book copy of the Puppet Master and a $10 Amazon Gift Card.

About the Author

Described by his readers as a cross between Agatha Christie, Lee Child, and John Lescroart, bestselling author Ron Barak keeps his readers flipping the pages into the wee hours of the night. While he mostly lets his characters tell his stories, he does manage to get his licks in too.

Barak derives great satisfaction in knowing that his books not only entertain but also stimulate others to think about how things might be, how people can actually resolve real-world problems. In particular, Barak tackles the country’s dysfunctional government representatives—not just back-seat driving criticism for the sake of being a back-seat driver, but truly framing practical remedies to the political abuse and corruption adversely affecting too many people’s lives today. Barak’s extensive legal background and insight allow him to cleverly cross-pollenate his fiction and today’s sad state of political reality.

In his latest novel, THE AMENDMENT KILLER, Barak calls upon his real world legal ingenuity and skill to craft a 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution criminalizing political abuse and corruption that Constitutional scholars across the country are heralding as a highly plausible answer to the political chaos destroying the very moral fiber of the country today. It’s difficult to read THE AMENDMENT KILLER and not imagine what could—and should—be expected and demanded of those political leaders who have forgotten they are there to serve and not be served.

Barak is also a committed and strident advocate of finding a cure for diabetes. One of the primary characters in THE AMENDMENT KILLER is the feisty and precocious 11-year-old diabetic granddaughter of the Supreme Court justice holding the swing vote in a case in which Congress is challenging the validity of Barak’s hypothetical 28th Amendment. It is no small coincidence that Barak is himself a diabetic. Or that he has committed 50% of the net proceeds of THE AMENDMENT KILLER to diabetes research and education.

Barak is singularly qualified to have authored THE AMENDMENT KILLER, which will appeal to political and legal thriller aficionados alike. Barak is a law school honors graduate and a former Olympic athlete. While still in law school, he authored a bill introduced in Congress that overnight forced the settlement of a decades long dispute between the NCAA and the AAU to control amateur athletics in the United States.

Present-day politicians would do well to read THE AMENDMENT KILLER and not underestimate the potential of Barak’s 28th Amendment. You can read his 28th Amendment at ronaldsbarak.com/28th-amendment-page-2. You can also read his occasional political blogs at ronaldsbarak.com/blog.

Ron and his wife, Barbie, and the four-legged members of their family reside in Pacific Palisades, California.

You can catch up with the author on:
Website 🔗, Goodreads 🔗, Twitter 🔗, & Facebook 🔗!

Review: HER SILENT CRY by Lisa Regan

This summer I got a lot of reading done. For a slight change of pace, I downloaded a review copy of Her Silent Cry (Detective Josie Quinn Book 6) from Net Galley.  After all, I couldn’t resist a thriller with such a beautiful cover.

Description

Round and round she goes, blonde pigtails flying, her high-pitched giggle catching on the wind. But as the ride slows to a stop, her seat is suddenly empty. Little Lucy is gone…

When seven-year-old Lucy Ross is snatched from the carousel in Denton city park, Detective Josie Quinn joins the frantic search. She’s the one who finds Lucy’s sparkly butterfly backpack abandoned by the ticket booth, a note with a devastating message stuffed inside: answer your phone, or your sweet little darling will die…

The next day, Lucy’s parents are filled with hope when they pick up a call which they think is from their babysitter – but instead it’s a chilling male voice on the line. Josie races to the babysitter’s small apartment only to find her lifeless body in a tangle of sheets on her bed.

Josie is faced with the most high-stakes case of her career as each new phone call from someone connected to the family ends with the shocking discovery of another body. This twisted killer wants revenge, and he won’t stop until the Ross family are in pieces…

Something is telling Josie that Lucy’s parents aren’t giving her the whole truth, but digging deeper into their lives will force her to confront a life-changing secret of her own. Does Josie have what it takes to crack this case? She has no choice if she’s going to bring Lucy home alive…

Her Silent Cry is available on Amazon.

My Review

This police procedural/thriller was a page-turner. From the onset, you are invested – you want to know what happened to Lucy, who took her, and why.  Josie is strong, smart, and determined. She is quick to take charge and willing to do whatever needs to be done to find the missing child. The investigation points in one direction, only to then turn in another, and then veer off in yet another – without identifying the kidnapper and motive until almost the very end. Relatable characters and unexpected plot twists made for an engrossing read.

This was my first time reading anything by Lisa Regan;  it probably won’t me my last.    Although Her Silent Cry can be read as a standalone,  I may have to find time now to go back and read the rest of the series.

FTC Disclosure:  I received an advance review copy of this book via Net Galley. This has not affected the content of my review.

Book Review & Giveaway: KILL AND RUN by Lauren Carr

Today, as part of a Blog Tour organized by IRead Book Tours,  I am pleased to introduce Lauren Carr’s most recent mystery – Kill and Run, A Thorny Rose Mystery.

Synopsis (from Amazon):

Five women with seemingly nothing in common are found brutally murdered in a townhome outside Washington, DC. Among the many questions surrounding the massacre is what had brought these apparent strangers together only to be killed.

Taking on his first official murder case, Lieutenant Murphy Thornton, USN, believes that if he can uncover the thread connecting the victims, then he can find their murderer.

The case takes an unexpected turn when Murphy discovers that one of the victims has a connection to his stepmother, Homicide Detective Cameron Gates. One wintry night, over a dozen years before, her first husband, a Pennsylvania State trooper, had been run down while working a night shift on the turnpike.

In this first installment of the Thorny Rose Mysteries, the Lovers in Crime join newlyweds Lieutenant Murphy Thornton and Jessica Faraday to sift through a web of lies and cover-ups. Together, can the detectives of the Thorny Rose uncover the truth without falling victim to a cunning killer?

My Review

Kill and Run is an interesting story that deals with sensitive issues of corruption in the military and in the political system.

At first I found myself a bit overwhelmed with the abundance of characters  – Murphy and Jessica and their extended families and pets – and subplots that were introduced in the first part of the book.  Although the author lists the cast of characters at the beginning of the book, I prefer to discover and get to know the characters as I read.  As I got further into the story, the different personalities emerged and my confusion abated.  Both of the female protagonists, Jessica and Cameron, are likeable, strong independent thinkers.  Even the pets had distinct quirks.  The antics of the four-or-more-legged characters added a great element of comic relief to the story.

The tone of the narrative was for the most part light. The aspects of the story that dealt with Murphy’s investigation into the women’s murder lent the book the feel of a police procedural. At the same time, the Jessica’s efforts to investigate on her own and the closed world of the Officer’s wives’ club reminded me of a cozy mystery.

I think the author did a great job of creating an intricate story and tying multiple subplots together.  Overall, it was a very enjoyable read.

As noted above, this is the first book in a new series that includes characters that appeared in another series by this author.  That said, it can definitely be read and enjoyed as a standalone novel.

FTC Disclosure:   I received an ARC of this book as part of this blog tour.  This has not affected the content of my review in any way. 

About the Author

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. Open Season for Murder is the tenth installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series.

In addition to her series set on Deep Creek Lake, Lauren Carr has also written the Lovers in Crime Mysteries, which features prosecutor Joshua Thornton with homicide detective Cameron Gates, who were introduced in Shades of Murder, the third book in the Mac Faraday Mysteries. They also make an appearance in The Lady Who Cried Murder.

Three Days to Forever introduced Lauren Carr’s latest series detectives, Murphy Thornton and Jessica Faraday in the Thorny Rose Mysteries. Look for Kill and Run, the first installment in this series, was released September 1, 2015.

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. Visit Acorn Book Services’ website for more information.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.

She lives with her husband, son, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Watch the trailer for Kill and Run here.

Kill and Run, A Thorny Rose Mystery is available on:

Amazon   ~  Barnes & Noble   ~  Book Depository  ~   Indigo Chapters

Giveaway:
Enter a Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win:
1. An ebook copy of Kill and Run with a $15 Amazon gift card (open internationally – 5 winners)
2.  A print copy of Kill and Run (USA only – 4 winners)
3.  A print copy of both Three Days to Forever and Kill and Run with a $25 Amazon gift card (USA only)