Category: P

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2019, SERIES, Women's Murder Club

Review: 15th Affair by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Tara

15th Affair
by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

15th Affair

 

Copyright: 2016

Pages: 351

Read: March 25 – 28, 2019

Rating: 3/5

Source: Purchased at Goodwill

 
Blurb: Lindsay Boxer has a beautiful baby daughter and a husband she loves unconditionally. Always focused on her career as a San Francisco police detective, she never wondered what domestic bliss might feel lie, but she’s never been happier. She can’t imagine that a brutal murder at a downtown luxury hotel and the disappearance of a gorgeous blonde woman from the scene would have anything to do with her own life and marriage – yet Lindsay can’t ignore disturbing clues that hit very close to home.

When an explosive tragedy plunges San Francisco into chaos, Lindsay is pressed to investigate a criminal plot that stretches around the globe, and she again finds herself following signs that lead to her own front door. Fighting powerful enemies trying to protect their operatives and conceal the truth at all costs, Lindsay turns to the Women’s Murder Club for help as she desperately searches for the elusive and deadly blonde … before she loses her husband for good.

Review: This is the 15th book in the Women’s Murder Club series. Overall I’ve enjoyed these books, so I was looking forward to jumping back in with Lindsay and her crew. To be completely honest, I picked this one up because I wanted a quick and easy read near the end of March that I could finish before the start of April. I can always count on Mr. Patterson for a fast-paced thriller that I can fly through.

This particular installment … I don’t know. Like, I enjoyed it, but I also really struggled with it. As a mother of two young children and a woman who works outside the house, I can’t imagine working the kind of hours that Lindsay does. And then she didn’t have Joe in this particular installment to help her out and a lot was falling on her next-door nanny. And I’m not entirely sure how I felt about the twist that happens between her and Joe. It definitely puts a big question mark onto her relationship with him and the book leaves a big hole in regards to that as well (darn cliffhangers!).

I think it all boils down to the fact that I really miss the earlier books in this series – when the Women’s Murder Club was an actual thing. With those ladies banding together and solving the cases. That just doesn’t happen anymore in these later books. And I get that characters (like people in real life) do grow and go different ways in life, but I also feel like this particular series was really founded on that and now that that particular part of the series is gone it’s leaving something missing.

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, Michael Bennett, Mini Review, P, RATING, Read in 2018, SERIES

Mini Review: Bullseye by James Patterson

Tara

Bullseye
by James Patterson

Bullseye

Copyright: 2016

Pages: 327

Read: Dec. 2-5, 2018

Rating: 3/5

Source: Grandmother

 

Blurb: Caught in the crosshairs of a deadly standoff, Detective Michael Bennett must kill … or be killed. Tension between America and Russia is high as the UN convenes in New York City. Snow blankets the avenues of Manhattan’s exclusive Upper West Side. The storm is the perfect cover for a fashionable, highly trained team of lethal assassins as they prowl the streets. Their first hit is target practice. Their next hit could turn the Cold War red-hot once again – because they’re aiming for the president of the United States.

Pulled away from his family and pressed into service, Detective Michael Bennett must trace the source of a threat that could rip America apart – and ignite a war with the likes of which the world has never seen. With allegiances constantly in doubt and no one above suspicion, only Bennett can save the president – and the country – before the assassins’ deadly kill shot hits its mark.

Review: This is the 9th book in the Michael Bennett series. Unfortunately, I read this one quite a few weeks ago and ultimately have very little memory of it. 😦

I do remember reading it quite quickly and that it felt quite relevant. But other than that my memory of this one is quite lacking. I do enjoy the Michael Bennett series and am looking forward to reading the 10th book sooner rather than later!

3.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2018

Review: The Judas Goat by Robert B. Parker

Tara

The Judas Goat
by Robert B. Parker

The Judas Goat

 

Copyright: 1978

Pages: 203

Read: Oct. 28-30, 2018

Rating: 3/5

Source: Paperbackswap

 

Blurb: Spenser has gone to London — and not to see the Queen. He’s gone to track down a bunch of bombers who’ve blown away his client’s wife and kids. His job is to catch them. Or kill them. His client isn’t choosy.

But there are nine killers to one Spenser — long odds. Hawk helps balance the equation. The rest depends on a wild plan. Spenser will get one of the terrorists to play Judas Goat — to lead him to others. Trouble is, he hasn’t counted on her being very blond, very beautiful and very dangerous.

Review: This is the 5th book in the Spenser series. This was a quick and fun read. It was a little violent (nothing over the top), but more than I remember in previous installments. You can also tell that it’s a little dated … based on the clothing descriptions 😀 However the actual storyline itself was not dated at all, it was quite enjoyable.

I like Spenser’s character … he’s a hard-hitting dude with some heart to him. I also like the addition of Hawk’s character, I think he adds a really great dimension to the book and I hope he continues to make appearances in subsequent installments.

Overall I enjoyed this one. It was a good and solid installment and I’m definitely looking forward to the next book.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, Michael Bennett, P, RATING, Read in 2018, SERIES

Review: Alert by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Tara

Alert
by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Alert

 

Copyright: 2015

Pages: 368

Read: Oct. 1-6, 2018

Rating: 4/5

Source: Grandmother

 

 

 

Blurb: New Yorkers aren’t easily intimidated, but someone is doing their best to scare them, badly. Why? After two crippling high-tech attacks, the entire city is on edge. Detective Michael Bennett, along with his old pal, the FBI’s Emily Parker, has to catch the shadowy criminals who claim responsibility – but they’re as good at concealing their identities as they are at wreaking havoc.

When a shocking murder in broad daylight points to killers both skilled and cold-blooded, Bennett begins to suspect that these mysterious events are just the prelude to the biggest threat of all. Soon he’s racing against the clock, and against the most destructive enemy he’s faced yet, to save his beloved New York – before it’s lights-out for the city that never sleeps.

Review: I can always count on James Patterson for a quick and easy read. This particular book is the 8th installment in the Michael Bennett series. Last month I read the seventh book and enjoyed it well enough, but this book was much better!

I found this one to be fast paced and quite frighteningly believable. It was quite scary to think just how something like what happened could actually happen in real life. Good thing this was fiction 🙂

Overall a good story that I enjoyed. It was a quick, easy, enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend to thriller lovers.

2.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, L, Michael Bennett, P, RATING, Read in 2018, SERIES

Review: Burn by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Tara

Burn
by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Burn

 

Copyright: 2014

Pages: 385

Read: Aug 28 – 31, 2018

Rating: 2.5/5

Source: Grandmother

 

Blurb: At last, Detective Michael Bennett and his family are coming home to New York City. Thanks to Bennett, the ruthless crime lord whose vengeful mission forced the Bennett family into hiding has been brought down for good.

Back in the city that never sleeps, Bennett takes over a chaotic Outreach Squad in Harlem, where he receives an unusual call: a man claims to have seen a group of well-dressed men holding a bizarre party in a condemned building. With no clear crime or evidence, Bennett dismisses the report. But when a charred body is found in that very same building, the detective is forced to take the demented caller seriously – and becomes drawn into an underground criminal world of terrifying depravity.

Review: I can always rely on Mr. Patterson for a fun and easy read. It had been quite some time since I had visited with Michael Bennett and his family, so I was looking forward to jumping back in with the Bennett’s.

Overall, this was a good book. I really enjoyed Bennett’s new squad, they added some good new characters for the series. I seriously hope that he continues with that new squad and we get to see more of them in future books.

This particular installment had some interesting storylines, with the diamond heists as well as cannibalism. Very strange, but for whatever reason, it made for interesting reading.

My one and only complaint was the ending … or lack, thereof. It was frustrating the way it ended. I was looking for a few more answers and a nice little wrap up in the epilogue, but that never happened. It just ended. It almost felt as if something was left out. It was a little disappointing.

But overall, the book was enjoyable and definitely left me wanting more of the Bennett family and looking forward to reading on in this series.

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2018

Review: Promised Land by Robert B. Parker

Tara

Promised Land
by Robert B. Parker

Promised Land

 

Copyright: 1976

Pages: 218

Read: August 12 – 17, 2018

Rating: 3/5

Source: Paperbackswap

 

Blurb: The man wore a leisure suit. His daughter wore a lime-green bikini.

And the woman was gone: a wife and mother who had suddenly left everything behind.

Spenser’s job was to find her. But chasing a runaway Hyannis housewife takes Spenser straight up against the most dangerous man he’s ever met: an enforcer who calls himself Hawk …

Review: This is the fourth book in the Spenser series. I read books 2 and 3 last year and had ordered this one after liking those two. And then I let it sit on my shelf. So I was excited to get around to it again.

For the most part, this was a good book. There were times that I wasn’t really all that interested in the storyline, but that was mainly the last half of the book. It was after Spenser found the wife and she managed to get herself into trouble of her own. Spenser took the lead to get her out of it, but I just didn’t care for the direction it went. I found it to be a little unbelievable if you want the truth.

But it was still an ok book. Okay enough for me to order the next two books in the series. So far these books have been quick little reads that keep my attention well enough. Just some escapism reading with this book … but sometimes that’s just what I need.

AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, Read in 2018

Review: NYPD Red 2 by James Patterson

Tara

NYPD Red 2
by James Patterson

NYPD Red 2

Copyright: 2014

Pages: 392

Read: May 19-23, 2018

Rating: 3/5

Source: Purchased Used

 

 

Blurb: When NYPD Red arrives at a crime scene, everyone takes notice. Known as the protectors of the rich, famous, and connected, NYPD Red is the elite task force called in only for New York City’s most high-profile crimes. And Detective Zach Jordan is the best of the best, a brilliant and relentless pursuer of justice. He puts professionalism above all, ignoring his feelings for his partner, Detective Kylie MacDonald, the woman who broke his heart when they first met in the academy.

Even with their top-notch training, Zach and Kylie aren’t prepared for what they see when they’re called to a crime scene in the heart of Central Park. They arrive to find a carousel spinning round and round, its painted horses grinning eerily in the early-morning dark. There is only one rider: a brutally slaughtered woman, her body tied up and dressed in a hazmat suit, on display for the world to see.

The victim, a woman of vast wealth and even greater influence, is the fourth in a string of shocking murders that have hit the city. As the public pressure mounts, and political and personal secret of the highest order hang in the balance, Zach and Kylie must find out what’s really behind the murderer’s rampage. But Kylie has been acting strange recently – and Zach knows that whatever she’s hiding could threaten the biggest case of their careers.

Review: I can always rely on James Patterson for a quick and easy read. I was a little hesitant to pick this one up when I did because I had already read a James Patterson book in the month of may – Never Never – and was a little unimpressed by it. But I remember really liking the first book in the NYPD Red series, so I was definitely looking forward to reading the second book.

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was quick and easy to read. The storyline was interesting. I enjoy the characters and there was a lot going on personally for Kylie in this book. I look forward to see what happens going forward for her. A good, strong installment in this series.

Definitely recommended.

2.5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2018

Review: Never Never by James Patterson

Tara

Never Never
by James Patterson & Candice Fox

Never Never

Copyright: 2016

Pages: 316

Read: April 27 – May 2, 2018

Rating: 2.5/5

Source: Grandmother

 

 

Blurb: Meet Detective Harriet Blue of the Sydney Police Department.

Harry is her department’s top Sex Crimes investigator. But she never thought she’d see her own brother arrested for the grisly murders of three beautiful young women. Shocked and in denial, Harry transfers to a makeshift town in a desolate area to avoid the media circus. Looking into a seemingly simple missing persons case, Harry is assigned a new “partner.” But is he actually meant to be a watchdog?

Far from the world she knows and desperate to clear her brother’s name, Harry has to mine the dark secrets of her strange new home for answers to a deepening mystery – before she vanishes in a place where no one would ever think to look for her.

Review: This is the first in a new(ish) series from Mr. Patterson. It sounded good and I’m a sucker for series books, so I was excited to give it a go.

Unfortunately it fell flat for me. I’m not entirely sure if it was the storyline …. I didn’t like the setting … or if it was the fact that I pegged the killer entirely too early. It just didn’t work for me to be honest.

As I stated this is the first in a series. Part of me wants to read the second book just to see if we get any closure to Harry’s brother’s case … the other part of me doesn’t want to waste my time. So the verdict is still out on that. It’s not often that I’m this disappointed by a Patterson book, but this one was not up to par to some of his others.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, E-Book, Fiction, P, PICT Book Tours, RATING, Read in 2018, Review Book

Review: Hiding by Jenny Morton Potts

Tara

Hiding

by Jenny Morton Potts

on Tour May 1-31, 2018

Hiding by Jenny Morton Potts

Synopsis:

Keller Baye and Rebecca Brown live on different sides of the Atlantic. Until she falls in love with him, Rebecca knows nothing of Keller. But he’s known about her for a very long time, and now he wants to destroy her.

This is the story of two families. One living under the threat of execution in North Carolina. The other caught up in a dark mystery in the Scottish Highlands. The families’ paths are destined to cross. But why? And can anything save them when that happens?

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Published by: Cahoots Publishing

Publication Date: February 2018

Number of Pages: 323

ISBN: 1976862817 (ISBN13: 9781976862816)

Check out Hiding onAmazon | Goodreads

Review: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was immediately drawn into the blurb of this book – it really caught my attention immediately. And I really love the cover too … so I was excited to get a chance to read this book!

Overall, I enjoyed it. However, it did have a somewhat slow start for me. But let me just saw that once a certain something was revealed (maybe around 15-20-ish percent on my e-book copy?) it was like a corner had been turned and from there on out it was a race to the finish for me! I can’t go into too much detail here, because I don’t want to spoil anything.

The story that Ms. Potts weaves was intricate and intriguing. The writing was really enjoyable. That slightly slow start is my one and only negative thing I can say about this book. I have never read anything by Ms. Potts before this, but I am certainly going to keep an eye out for her works in the future! I really enjoyed this one and definitely recommend it!

Author Bio:

Jenny Morton Potts

Jenny is a novelist, screenplay writer and playwright. After a series of ‘proper jobs’, she realised she was living someone else’s life and escaped to Gascony to make gîtes. Knee deep in cement and pregnant, Jenny was happy. Then autism and a distracted spine surgeon wiped out the order. Returned to wonderful England, to write her socks off.

Jenny would like to see the Northern Lights but worries that’s the best bit and should be saved till last. Very happily, and gratefully, settled with family.

She tries not to take herself too seriously.

Catch Up With Jenny Morton Potts On:
Website, Goodreads, Twitter, & Facebook!

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, RATING, Read in 2018, SERIES, Women's Murder Club

Review: 14th Deadly Sin by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Tara

14th Deadly Sin
by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

14th Deadly Sin

Copyright: 2014

Pages: 304

Read: Dec. 29, 2017 – Jan. 2, 2018

Rating: 4/5

Source: Grandmother

 

 

Blurb: With a beautiful baby daughter and a devoted husband, Detective Lindsay Boxer can safely say that her life has never been better. In fact, things seem to be going well for all the members of the Women’s Murder Club (for a change). But a birthday celebration for medical examiner Claire Washburn gets cut short when Lindsay is called to a gruesome crime scene, where a woman has been murdered in broad daylight. Then video footage of another crime surfaces, so horrific that it shakes the city to its core. Wearing SFPD jackets, their faces obscured by masks, the cold-blooded criminals on tape could be anyone – and all of Lindsay’s coworkers are suspects. As pubic fear and anger grow, Lindsay and her friends must risk their lives in the name of justice – before it’s too late.

Review: This was my first finished book of 2018. It was a quick read that I took on my vacation and read mainly on the airplane rides (and during the 4 hour delay ::eyeroll::)

I can always rely on James Patterson for an enjoyable and easy read. This one was no exception. The two storylines were both fun to “work the case” with Lindsay and company. The character development was good – Joe is trying to figure out where he’s going next after losing his job, Yuki leaves the DA’s office and takes a new job, Cindy has written a book and is doing the publicity for that. I just love series books because you get to know all these great characters!

As usual, I would recommend starting this series from the beginning, but at the same time it would probably stand well on its own if need be. This one was just a good, easy read … definitely “brain candy” for me. And I look forward to the 15th in the series.