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Reviews

Reviews

by John Gilstrap - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

An island paradise held hostage. A band of dangerous killers unleashed. A sinister plot that could push the superpowers to the brink of war. For Jonathan Grave and Gail Bonneville, the Crystal Sands Resort has become the ultimate flashpoint. Their mission: defeat the attackers before more lives are lost. Their only hope is Grave’s partner Boxers, but he’s hundreds of miles away. Grave may be without weapons, but he’s never without resources. That’s when he’s most lethal --- when he will strike fast, hard and without warning.

by Joe Clifford - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

At an AA meeting, handyman and part-time investigator Jay Porter meets a recovering addict who needs his help. Amy Lupus’ younger sister, Emily, has gone missing from the Coos County Center, the newly opened rehab run by Jay’s old nemeses, Adam and Michael Lombardi. When Jay learns of a “missing” hard drive, he is flung back to five years ago when his own junkie brother, Chris, found a hard drive belonging to Lombardi Construction. For years, Jay assumed that the much-sought-after hard drive contained incriminating photos of Adam and Michael’s father, which contributed to Chris’ death. But now he believes that hard drive may have harbored a secret far more sinister, which the missing Lupus sister may have unwittingly discovered.

by Stephen Holgate - Fiction, Mystery

An American diplomat --- reformed alcoholic, unreformed gambler and inveterate smart-ass --- finds himself under threat of disgrace and murder, even as he seeks love and redemption on the strange and spirit-ridden island of Madagascar. Author Stephen Holgate brings the mystery and mysticism of Madagascar to life in his haunting and exciting second novel.

by Rob Leininger - Fiction, Mystery

IRS agent-turned-PI Mortimer Angel is relaxing in a hole-in-the-wall bar in a Reno casino when an attractive young girl hires him to find out who left her a cryptic message demanding a million dollars. At the girl’s house, Mort finds the body of missing rapper Jonnie Xenon --- Jo-X to his legions of fans --- hanging from the rafters with two bullet holes in him. Mort is shocked when he learns the identity of the girl’s father --- and even more shocked when the father hires him to investigate the murder. Mort, being Mort, accumulates a few felonies as he follows the clues to Las Vegas. And along the way, he picks up an alluring young assistant who changes his life --- in every conceivable way.

by Dino Buzzati - Fiction, Short Stories

In CATASTROPHE, renowned Italian short story writer Dino Buzzati brings vividly to life the slow and quietly terrifying collapse of our known, everyday world. From “The Epidemic,” which traces the gradual effects of a “state influenza” that targets those who disagree with the government, to “The Collapse of Baliverna,” where a man puzzles over whether a misstep on his part caused the collapse of a building, Buzzati’s surreal, unsettling tales reckon with the struggle that lies beneath everyday interactions, the sometimes perverse workings of human emotions and desires, and describe the small steps we take as individuals and as a society in our march toward catastrophe.

by Charles Finch - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Mystery

London, 1850: A young Charles Lenox struggles to make a name for himself as a detective…without a single case. But when an anonymous writer sends a letter to the paper claiming to have committed the perfect crime --- and promising to kill again --- Lenox is convinced that this is his chance to prove himself. The writer’s first victim is a young woman whose body is found in a naval trunk. With few clues to go on, Lenox endeavors to solve the crime before another innocent life is lost. When the killer’s sights are turned toward those whom Lenox holds most dear, the stakes are raised and Lenox is trapped in a desperate game of cat and mouse.

by H. Terrell Griffin - Fiction, Mystery

Matt Royal, the retired lawyer-turned-beach-bum, is called back into the courtroom to defend his girlfriend J.D. Duncan's Aunt Esther. A bestselling author has been murdered after a book signing, and Aunt Esther has been arrested. Matt reluctantly suits up for the courtroom, and J.D. takes a leave from the police department to go undercover. A bizarre specter from the past haunts their investigation every step of the way. As they delve further into the case, the pieces of the puzzle refuse to fall into any kind of coherent pattern. Jock Algren arrives with his special skill set to expose the real murderer and free Aunt Esther, but to no avail. Not until the case goes to trial and the evidence is revealed does the truth emerge --- and a strange kind of justice prevails.

by D.P. Lyle - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

PI Jake Longly and Nicole Jemison head to New Orleans at the behest of Nicole's uncle, movie producer Charles Balfour, when his megastar, A-list actor Kirk Ford, awakens in his hotel bed with the body of Kristi Guidry, a local college coed. Ford, in the Big Easy for a location shoot, remembers little of the evening and nothing of the murder. And, to make matters worse, Kristi is the niece of a local mafioso-type who will do whatever is necessary to avenge her death. Surrounded by glitzy Hollywood stars and intimidated by seedy underworld characters, Jake and Nicole encounter nothing but obstacles. The clock is ticking as they struggle to decipher who's lying, who's telling the truth, and exactly who schemed to murder Kristi.

by Matt Coyle - Fiction, Hard-boiled Mystery, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Rick Cahill has long feared the truth about his own blood --- the blood of his father coursing through his veins. When a long-hidden safe unlocks clues about why his father was kicked off the police force 27 years ago and then spiraled into an early drunken death, Rick determines to find the truth even if it proves the one thing he's always feared. But as he grapples with his father's past, the woman he still loves pleads with him to find out if her husband is having an affair --- or is involved in something much more sinister. Could the truth send her back into Rick’s arms? Would he have a last shot at happiness? He may never get the chance to find out, as killers who will do anything to protect their secrets lurk in the shadows.

by Renee James - Fiction, Mystery

Bobbi Logan is a successful businesswoman and a celebrated hairdresser. She is a witty, articulate woman who has survived rape, gender transition, a murder investigation, and countless acts of bullying and bigotry to get to where she is --- and she's made enemies along the way. Now one of them is stalking her. With each passing day, the threats become more brazen, more violent and more personal. Bobbi accumulates a list of six suspects and hunts them down, one by one. But as she confronts those men who may want to do her harm, the number seven keeps haunting her --- there must be a seventh suspect. And when she finds him, Bobbi’s world implodes.