BOOK REVIEW: TRUTH AND LIES BY CAROLINE MITCHELL

Title: Truth and Lies

Author: Caroline Mitchell

Genre: Thriller, police procedural

Published on: August 30, 2018 by Thomas & Mercer

Meet Amy Winter: Detective Inspector, daughter of a serial killer.

DI Amy Winter is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her highly respected police officer father. But when a letter arrives from the prison cell of Lillian Grimes, one half of a notorious husband-and-wife serial-killer team, it contains a revelation that will tear her life apart.

Responsible for a string of heinous killings decades ago, Lillian is pure evil. A psychopathic murderer. And Amy’s biological mother. Now, she is ready to reveal the location of three of her victims—but only if Amy plays along with her twisted game.

While her fellow detectives frantically search for a young girl taken from her mother’s doorstep, Amy must confront her own dark past. Haunted by blurred memories of a sister who sacrificed herself to save her, Amy faces a race against time to uncover the missing bodies.

But what if, from behind bars, Grimes has been pulling the strings even tighter than Amy thought? And can she overcome her demons to prevent another murder?

 

While searching for good mystery/police procedural books, I came across Truth and Lies. The cover art (and the blurb) seemed intriguing. Another thing sets this book apart from others in the genre that I’ve read. Truth and Lies takes place in London, where the police force structure and MO are not like in the U.S. The main character is Amy Winter, a Detective Inspector. There are different ranks in the U.K. police, which I wasn’t familiar with before. A DI is among the top posts, but is not the highest rank.

Truth and Lies starts with a funeral. Amy’s father Robert, the former Detective Chief Inspector of the Essex Police, has passed away. Unlike most of the mourners, Amy isn’t crying. This does not mean she didn’t care for Robert. Amy loved her father; he was her hero and one of the reasons she became a police officer. Amy is just…different. She’s not on the spectrum and she’s not a psychopath, though. Amy simply isn’t one to show her feelings openly. She also has a certain darkness in her, which makes Amy a formidably effective investigator.

BOOK REVIEW: WHEN I WAS YOURS BY SAMANTHA TOWLE

Title: When I Was Yours

Author: Samantha Towle

Genre: Romance, New Adult

Published on: November 10, 2015, self-published

“Marry me.”
“What?” I stared back at him, unblinking.
He moved closer, taking my face in his hands. “I love you, Evie. I look into the future, and the only thing I see clearly is you. Marry me.”

What’s an eighteen-year-old girl who was madly in love with her nineteen-year-old boyfriend say?

Of course, I said yes.

Twenty-four hours later, I married Adam Gunner at a Vegas chapel to the sounds of “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. Not the best omen. I get that now.

Then, exactly one week later, I left him. I walked out, leaving behind my wedding ring, annulment papers, and my heart, and he never knew why.

I haven’t seen him since. Not in ten long years.

Now, he’s here, standing before me. Looking at me with nothing but hurt and hatred in his eyes, he wants answers.

Answers I can’t give.

 

I’d been looking forward to reading a Samantha Towle book for a while. She seems to write the kind of romance novels that appeal to me. When I read the synopsis for When I Was Yours, it made me piqued. The main characters are Adam Gunner and Evie Taylor (I know). They met one fateful summer, shortly before they were due to attend college. Adam is a rich guy, and the only son of two Hollywood moguls. In contrast, Evie’s family is barely able to make ends meet. She also has a younger sister, Casey.

Adam first notices Evie when she’s out on the beach not far from his house. She’s sitting on a rock, drawing on a sketchpad. Adam’s quite a ladies’ man, but there’s something about Evie that he can’t resist. Unfortunately, Adam takes a long time to pluck up the courage to talk to Evie. When they finally are face to face, it’s a coup de foudre. Adam thinks Evie is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Evie also really likes Adam, even knowing he spent weeks simply watching her.

BOOK REVIEW: THE GIRL BEHIND THE WALL BY JUDITH BERENS

Title: The Girl Behind the Wall
Author: Judith Berens
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Published on: May 13, 2019 by LMBPN Publishing

Would you adopt a 400-year-old teenager? How about one with fangs?

Vicki was put into a deep sleep and has no clue centuries have passed. That is, until she’s accidentally woken up by a father and daughter on a vacation.

Cars? Cell phones? What’s an Instagram? How can Craig and Alexis explain the world?

No one said educating a teenage vampire would be easy.

First they have to figure out how to get her back to the United States without anyone figuring out she’s not quite human. Public school should be interesting.

Cheerleading tryouts, driving lessons, unreal power and fangs?

You try telling her no. She’s a new kind of modern-day teenager. But for Alexis, she’s just a new sister… with bite.

Join Vicki, Craig, and Alexis on a journey that will change their lives - in The Girl Behind the Wall.

 

 

Vampire fantasy is among my favorite supernatural fiction. I find them (and fairies) intriguing. When I read the synopsis for this book, I looked forward to reading it. The premise is compelling to me: a girl who suddenly wakes up after four hundred years. That she’s a vampire made it more interesting. She’s Victoria, a fourteen-year-old living in Austria whose parents put her in a deep sleep. They sought to hide her from some unknown danger. It appears Victoria’s parents met their demise, so she got stuck in stasis in her castle for centuries. Finally, a pair of tourists stumble into Victoria by chance.

The other protagonists are Craig and Alexis. They went on an impromptu trip to Austria after Craig’s wife (Alexis’s mother) died of cancer. The two wanted to check out for a little while before facing the rest of their lives. Craig and Alexis are renting the castle where Victoria remains hidden. One day, Alexis finds a clue that leads her to a section of the castle no one knows exists. After much cajoling, Alexis convinces her father to see what’s inside that hidden section. To their dismay, they discover a coffin…and inside is Victoria, looking exactly the same as she did in the early sixteen hundreds.

BOOK REVIEW: BLOOD DEFENSE BY MARCIA CLARK

Title: Blood Defense

Author: Marcia Clark

Genre: Mystery, thriller

Published on: May 1, 2016 by Thomas & Mercer

Samantha Brinkman, an ambitious, hard-charging Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, is struggling to make a name for herself and to drag her fledgling practice into the big leagues. Sam lands a high-profile double-murder case in which one of the victims is a beloved TV star—and the defendant is a decorated veteran LAPD detective. It promises to be exactly the kind of media sensation that would establish her as a heavy hitter in the world of criminal law.

Though Sam has doubts about his innocence, she and her two associates (her closest childhood friend and a brilliant ex-con) take the case. Notorious for living by her own rules—and fearlessly breaking everyone else’s—Samantha pulls out all the stops in her quest to uncover evidence that will clear the detective. But when a shocking secret at the core of the case shatters her personal world, Sam realizes that not only has her client been playing her, he might be one of the most dangerous sociopaths she’s ever encountered.

 

I’m a big fan of this author’s Rachel Knight books. When I heard she wrote a new similar series, I bought a copy right away. Blood Defense is the first entry, set in Los Angeles. The main character is Samantha Brinkman. Unlike Rachel, who’s a prosecutor, Samantha is a defense attorney. This made for a refreshing change. I found it interesting to see how the other side works. Samantha’s practice is small, though. She has two assistants, Michelle and Alex. They all live paycheck to paycheck (or retainer to retainer) so they’re not quite financially sound. Samantha’s office building is also smack dab within gang territory.

At the start of the book, a case emerges that could greatly increase exposure for Brinkman & Associates. The defendant, Detective Dale Pearson, personally requests Samantha to represent him. After learning about the case, she agrees to take it. This job won’t be an easy one, though. Dale faces charges for the murders of Chloe Monahan and Paige Avner, two roommates. Chloe was a beloved TV actress and Paige was a model. Dale happened to be dating Chloe. The murders of those two girls shocked and enraged the people of LA. They’re eager to see the culprit face justice.

BOOK REVIEW: RECURSION BY BLAKE CROUCH

Title: Recursion

Author: Blake Crouch

Genre: Science fiction, thriller

Published on: June 11, 2019 by Ballantine Books

“Gloriously twisting . . . a heady campfire tale of a novel.”—The New York Times Book Review

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • BookRiot

Reality is broken.
 
At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery—and what’s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself.
 
In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth—and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery . . . and the tools for fighting back.
 
Together, Barry and Helena will have to confront their enemy—before they, and the world, are trapped in a loop of ever-growing chaos.

 

Ever read a novel that turned out to be way deeper and more layered than the premise suggested? Recursion is a prime example. It’s a hard sci-fi novel mainly set in present-time New York City (as of 2019). The main characters are Barry Sutton and Helena Smith. Barry is a seasoned NYPD detective. He’s divorced and had a daughter who died in a tragic hit-and-run years ago. Helena is a gifted neuroscientist searching for a way to reverse or stop the effects of diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Barry and Helena don’t know each other at first. They even live on opposite corners of the U.S. The story begins with Barry failing to prevent a suicide. A woman jumped from a building after being unable to endure FMS any longer. False Memory Syndrome is a mysterious affliction that’s emerged recently. Sufferers claim to have vivid memories of a life that never happened. Barry is intrigued after his encounter with the woman. He decides to get to the bottom of what FMS is and where it came from.