Author: Darynda Jones
Goodreads Rating: 4.41
Pages: 336
Twelve. Twelve of the
deadliest beasts ever forged in the fires of hell have escaped onto our
plane, and they want nothing more than to rip out the jugular of Charley
Davidson and serve her lifeless, mangled body to Satan for dinner. So
there’s that. But Charley has more on her plate than a mob of testy
hellhounds. For one thing, her father has disappeared, and the more she
retraces his last steps, the more she learns he was conducting an
investigation of his own, one that has Charley questioning everything
she’s ever known about him. Add to that an ex-BFF who is haunting her
night and day, a rash of suicides that has authorities baffled, and a
drop-dead sexy fiancé who has attracted the attentions of a local
celebrity, and Charley is not having the best week of her life.
A
tad north of hell, a hop, skip, and a jump past the realm of eternity,
is a little place called Earth, and Charley Davidson, grim reaper
extraordinaire, is determined to do everything in her power to protect
it.
We’re doomed.
Author: Darynda Jones
Goodreads Rating: 4.40
Pages: 326
Few things in life can
come between a grim reaper and her coffee, but the sexy, sultry son of
Satan is one of them. Now that Reyes Farrow has asked for her hand,
Charley Davidson feels it's time to learn more about his past, but Reyes
is reluctant to open up. When the official FBI file of his childhood
abduction lands in her lap, Charley decides to go behind her mysterious
beau’s back and conduct her own investigation. Because what could go
wrong?
Unfortunately, another case has fallen into her lap—one
with dangerous implications. Some very insistent men want Charley to
hunt down a witness who is scheduled to testify against their boss, a
major player in the local crime syndicate. If Charley doesn't come up
with an address in 48 hours, the people closest to her will start to
disappear.
Add to that a desperate man in search of the soul he
lost in a card game, a dogged mother determined to find the ghost of her
son, and a beautiful, young Deaf boy haunted by his new ability to see
the departed as clearly as he sees the living, and Charley has her hands
full. The fact that Reyes has caught on to her latest venture only adds
fuel to the inferno that he is. Good thing for Charley she's used to
multi-tasking and always up for a challenge…especially when that
challenge comes in the form of Reyes Farrow.
Author: Elliott James
Goodreads rating: 3.75
Pages: 366
Format: ARC from BEA13
John Charming isn't your average Prince...
He
comes from a line of Charmings — an illustrious family of dragon
slayers, witch-finders and killers dating back to before the fall of
Rome. Trained by a modern day version of the Knights Templar, monster
hunters who have updated their methods from chainmail and crossbows to
kevlar and shotguns, he was one of the best. That is — until he became
the abomination the Knights were sworn to hunt.
That was a
lifetime ago. Now, he tends bar under an assumed name in rural Virginia
and leads a peaceful, quiet life. One that shouldn't change just because
a vampire and a blonde walked into his bar... Right?
Author: Alaya Dawn Johnson
Goodreads rating: 3.40
Pages: 352
Format: Final Copy BEA14
From the author of THE
SUMMER PRINCE, a novel that's John Grisham's THE PELICAN BRIEF meets
Michael Crichton's THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN set at an elite Washington D.C.
prep school.
Emily Bird was raised not to ask questions. She has
perfect hair, the perfect boyfriend, and a perfect Ivy-League future.
But a chance meeting with Roosevelt David, a homeland security agent, at
a party for Washington DC's elite leads to Bird waking up in a
hospital, days later, with no memory of the end of the night.
Meanwhile,
the world has fallen apart: A deadly flu virus is sweeping the nation,
forcing quarantines, curfews, even martial law. And Roosevelt is certain
that Bird knows something. Something about the virus--something about
her parents' top secret scientific work--something she shouldn't know.
The
only one Bird can trust is Coffee, a quiet, outsider genius who deals
drugs to their classmates and is a firm believer in conspiracy theories.
And he believes in Bird. But as Bird and Coffee dig deeper into what
really happened that night, Bird finds that she might know more than she
remembers. And what she knows could unleash the biggest government
scandal in US history.
Author: Darynda Jones
Goodreads Rating: 4.43
Pages: 320
Format: Final Copy
Welcome to the world of grim reaper extraordinaire Charley Davidson. Try as she might, there’s no avoiding her destiny.
Sometimes being the grim reaper really is, well, grim.
And since Charley’s last case went so awry, she has taken a couple of
months off to wallow in the wonders of self-pity. But when a woman shows
up on her doorstep convinced someone is trying to kill her, Charley has
to force herself to rise above...or at least get dressed. It becomes
clear something is amiss when everyone the woman knows swears she’s
insane. But the more they refute the woman’s story, the more Charley
believes it.
In the meantime, the sexy, sultry son of Satan, Reyes
Farrow, is out of prison and out of Charley’s life, as per her wishes
and several perfectly timed death threats. But his absence has put a
serious crimp in her sex life. While there are other things to consider,
like the fact that the city of Albuquerque has been taken hostage by an
arsonist, Charley is having a difficult time staying away. Especially
when it looks like Reyes may be involved.
Just when life was
returning to normal, Charley is thrust back into the world of crime,
punishment, and the devil in blue jeans in this hilarious fourth
installment in the New York Times bestselling series.
Author: Jim Butcher
Goodreads Rating: 4.42
Pages: 448
Format: Audiobook
There's an entire world
that exists alongside the everyday life of mankind. There are powers,
nations, monsters, wars, feuds, alliances - everything. Wizards are part
of it. So are a lot of other things you've heard about in stories, and
even more you've never heard of...Vampires. Werewolves. Faeries. Demons.
Monsters. It's all real.
Harry Dresden knows full well that such
creatures exist. Paranormal investigations are his stock-in-trade, and
Chicago is his beat as he tries to bring law and order to a world that
exists on the edges of imagination. Luckily Harry's not alone in this
struggle. And though most inhabitants of the Windy City don't believe in
magic, there's a department that's been set up within the Chicago PD to
deal with "strange" cases: the Special Investigations department.
Karrin
Murphy is the head of SI and a good friend of Harry's. So when a deadly
vampire threatens to destroy Murphy's reputation unless Harry helps
her, he has no choice. The vampire wants the Word of Kemmler and all the
power that comes with it - but first Harry has to determine what the
Word of Kemmler is. Now Harry is in a race against time - and six
necromancers - to find the Word before Chicago experiences a Halloween
night to wake the dead.
Author: Jim Butcher
Goodreads Rating: 4.32
Pages: 439
Format: Audiobook
Harry Dresden,
Chicago's only professional wizard, takes on a case as a favor to his
friend Thomas-a vampire of dubious integrity-only to become the prime
suspect in a series of ghastly murders.
Author: D.J. MacHale
Goodreads Rating: 3.83
Pages: 407
Format: Finished Copy from BEA13
Does Tucker Pierce have what it takes to be a hero when the U.S. military quarantines his island?
Fourteen-year-old
Tucker Pierce prefers to fly under the radar. He’s used to navigating
around summer tourists in his hometown on idyllic Pemberwick Island,
Maine. He’s content to sit on the sidelines as a backup player on the
high school football team. And though his best friend Quinn tells him to
“go for it,” he’s too chicken to ask Tori Sleeper on a date. There’s
always tomorrow, he figures. Then Pemberwick Island is invaded by a
mysterious branch of the U.S. military called SYLO. And sitting on the
sidelines is no longer an option for Tucker, because tomorrow may never
come.
It’s up to Tucker, Quinn, and Tori to uncover the truth
about the singing aircraft that appears only at night—and the stranger
named Feit who’s pushing a red crystal he calls the Ruby that brings
unique powers to all who take it. Tucker and his friends must rescue not
just Pemberwick Island, but the fate of the world—and all before
tomorrow is too late.
#1 New York Times bestselling author D.J. MacHale brings his brilliant plotting and breathless pacing to SYLO, the first in this ultimate end-of-the-world adventure trilogy.
Author: Jim Butcher
Goodreads Rating: 4.29
Pages: 451
Harry Dresden,
Chicago's only practicing professional wizard, should be happy that
business is pretty good for a change. But now he's getting more than he
bargained for.
A duel with the Red Court of Vampires' champion, who must kill Harry to end the war between vampires and wizards...
Professional hit men using Harry for target practice...
The missing Shroud of Turin...
A handless and headless corpse the Chicago police need identified...
Not
to mention the return of Harry's ex-girlfriend Susan, who's still
struggling with her semivampiric nature. And who seems to have a new man
in her life.
Some days, it just doesn't pay to get out of bed. No matter how much you're charging.
Author: April Henry
Goodreads Rating: 4.06
Pages: 224
Format: ARC from the Publisher
“Take her out back and finish her off.”
She doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know where she is, or why. All she knows when she comes to in a ransacked cabin is that there are two men arguing over whether or not to kill her.
And that she must run.
In her riveting style, April Henry crafts a nail-biting thriller involving murder, identity theft, and biological warfare. Follow Cady and Ty (her accidental savior turned companion), as they race against the clock to stay alive.
Author: Lili Peloquin
Goodreads Rating: 3.51
My Rating: 3.75 Stars
Pages: 288
Reviewed by: Nicole
Nothing ever came between sisters Alice and Charlie.Friends didn't.Boys couldn't.Their family falling apart never would.Until they got to Serenity Point."The Innocents" is the first in a new series of young adult novels that weave a saga of nail-biting drama, breathless romance, and gothic mystery.
Author: Deborah Crombie
Goodreads Rating: 4.10
Pages: 369
Format: Finished copy for a blog tour
New York Times
bestselling author Deborah Crombie makes her mark with this absorbing,
finely hued tale of suspense--a deeply atmospheric and twisting mystery
full of deadly secrets, salacious lies, and unexpected betrayals
involving the mysterious drowning of a Met detective--an accomplished
rower--on the Thames.
When a K9 search-and-rescue team discovers a
woman's body tangled up with debris in the river, Scotland Yard
superintendent Duncan Kincaid finds himself heading an investigation
fraught with complications. The victim, Rebecca Meredith, was a talented
but difficult woman with many admirers--and just as many enemies. An
Olympic contender on the verge of a controversial comeback, she was also
a high-ranking detective with the Met--a fact that raises a host of
political and ethical issues in an already sensitive case.
To
further complicate the situation, a separate investigation, led by
Detective Inspector Gemma James, Kincaid's wife, soon reveals a
disturbing--and possibly related--series of crimes, widening the field
of suspects. But when someone tries to kill the search-and-rescue team
member who found Rebecca's body, the case becomes even more complex and
dangerous, involving powerful interests with tentacles that reach deep
into the heart of the Met itself.
Surrounded by enemies with
friendly faces, pressured to find answers quickly while protecting the
Yard at all costs, his career and reputation on the line, Kincaid must
race to catch the killer before more innocent lives are lost--including
his own.
Author: Brenna Yovanoff
Goodreads Rating: 3.94
Pages: 368
Format: ARC from NYCC12
The city of Ludlow is gripped by the hottest July on record. The asphalt is melting, the birds are dying, petty crime is on the rise, and someone in Hannah Wagnor’s peaceful suburban community is killing girls.
For Hannah, the summer is a complicated one. Her best friend Lillian died six months ago, and Hannah just wants her life to go back to normal. But how can things be normal when Lillian’s ghost is haunting her bedroom, pushing her to investigate the mysterious string of murders? Hannah’s just trying to understand why her friend self-destructed, and where she fits now that Lillian isn’t there to save her a place among the social elite. And she must stop thinking about Finny Boone, the big, enigmatic delinquent whose main hobbies seem to include petty larceny and surprising acts of kindness.
With the entire city in a panic, Hannah soon finds herself drawn into a world of ghost girls and horrifying secrets. She realizes that only by confronting the Valentine Killer will she be able move on with her life—and it’s up to her to put together the pieces before he strikes again.
Paper Valentine is a hauntingly poetic tale of love and death by the New York Times bestselling author of The Replacement and The Space Between.
Author: Jessica Warman
Goodreads Rating: 3.73
My Rating: 3.75 Stars
Pages: 422
Reviewed by: Nicole
Rachel and Alice are an extremely rare kind of identical twins-so identical that even their aunt and uncle, whom they've lived with since their parents passed away, can't tell them apart. But the sisters are connected in a way that goes well beyond their surfaces: when one experiences pain, the other exhibits the exact same signs of distress. So when one twin mysteriously disappears, the other immediately knows something is wrong-especially when she starts experiencing serious physical traumas, despite the fact that nobody has touched her. As the search commences to find her sister, the twin left behind must rely on their intense bond to uncover the truth. But is there anyone around her she can trust, when everyone could be a suspect? And ultimately, can she even trust herself?
Master storyteller Jessica Warman will keep readers guessing when everything they see-and everything they are told-suddenly becomes unreliable in this page-turning literary thriller.
Author: James Patterson
Goodreads Rating: 3.90
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pages: 424
If you've been paying attention, you should know by now that I am also a TV junkie. I watch almost every show, and Women's Murder Club was one that I was decently fond of. Having built my "To-Read" list on Goodreads, I added this book because I was curious about the book that started the show. Sadly, this is one of those instances where watching the show skewed how I read this book which was unfortunate, but alas, there is nothing that can be done about it.
Goodreads Synopses:
James Patterson, bestselling author of the Alex Cross novels Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls, and Pop Goes the Weasel, offers the first of a new series dubbed The Women s Murder Club, featuring a four-woman team that occasionally works outside the system. None of the gritty darkness or frenzied action is lost in 1st to Die, although the female protagonists offer an even deeper emotional context to this suspense thriller.
Inspector Lindsay Boxer of the San Francisco Police Department suddenly finds herself in the middle of two horrifying situations: The first is that she s just learned she has an often-fatal blood disease. The second is a double homicide case she s now heading up that involves the murder of newlyweds on their wedding night. Burdened with Chris Raleigh, a new partner reassigned from the mayor s office, Lindsay finds that she has too much to deal with and turns to her best friend, Claire, the head ME on the case. Claire offers helpful advice and human, friendly contact amid a job filled with violence, cruelty, and fear.
Soon a fledgling newspaper reporter, Cindy, makes contact with Lindsay looking for a career-making story. Although Lindsay can t officially comment on the case, the two women form a rapport, and Cindy joins Lindsay and Claire for their weekly meeting. When a second pair of newlyweds is murdered, and later a third, the investigation leads to a prominent crime writer, Nicholas Jenks, who has a history of spousal abuse and a predilection for kinky, dangerous sex games. With the help of an understanding assistant D.A., Jill Bernhardt, Lindsay tries to make a case against Jenks, who even had an affair with one of the slain women. Eventually Jill joins the Murder Club, and the four ladies share private interdepartmental information in an effort to track and stop the killer before he strikes again.
The major subplot -- Lindsay's facing up to her illness even while she learns to fall in love again -- carefully compensates for the novel s coarse scenes of brutality. Lindsay Boxer isn t merely an obsessed cop trailing a maniac; she s also a terrified woman confronting the onslaught of disease. The story lines balance out to show us the true mettle of someone who puts the safety of others before her own.
Again, Patterson s skill for producing furiously paced fiction are evident as the novel breezes by rapidly. The short chapters keep the narrative leaping with increasingly taut plot elements, but there s an emotional commitment that makes our protagonist even more amiable and involving. 1st to Die is a novel that works as an intense series of character portraits that will leave the reader touched and delighted.
Jump and you will find my review!
Author: Alan Bradley
Goodreads Rating: 3.75
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pages: 294
Beside the fact that this title is a total mouthful (both in the sense of pie and being long) it was a wonderful story. I can't rightly tell you why I picked it up because I vaguely remember someone insisting that I read it, but I can't tell you who or why or when-a mystery in itself. As a lover of crime books (I'm in the middle of yet another at the writing of this post) and a lover of crime shows, I can tell you that this book isn't quite like anything I've read before or really encountered. The closest I can get to describing it is the lovechild of, an older, Nancy Drew and Richard Castle from the TV Show.
Goodreads Synopses:
In his wickedly brilliant first novel, Debut Dagger Award winner Alan Bradley introduces one of the most singular and engaging heroines in recent fiction: eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison. It is the summer of 1950—and a series of inexplicable events has struck Buckshaw, the decaying English mansion that Flavia’s family calls home. A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath. For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.”
To Flavia the investigation is the stuff of science: full of possibilities, contradictions, and connections. Soon her father, a man raising his three daughters alone, is seized, accused of murder. And in a police cell, during a violent thunderstorm, Colonel de Luce tells his daughter an astounding story—of a schoolboy friendship turned ugly, of a priceless object that vanished in a bizarre and brazen act of thievery, of a Latin teacher who flung himself to his death from the school’s tower thirty years before. Now Flavia is armed with more than enough knowledge to tie two distant deaths together, to examine new suspects, and begin a search that will lead her all the way to the King of England himself. Of this much the girl is sure: her father is innocent of murder—but protecting her and her sisters from something even worse….
An enthralling mystery, a piercing depiction of class and society, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is a masterfully told tale of deceptions—and a rich literary delight.
My review following the jump.
