Review: Forged in Fire by Trish McCallan

Schedule of Events:

Mon: Classic Mystery

Tues: Romantic Suspense

Wed: Urban Fantasy

Thurs: Thriller

Fri: Cozy Mystery

Sat: Paranormal Elements

Forged in Fire (Forged #1) by Trish McCallan
Synopsis (Goodreads):

Beth Brown doesn’t believe in premonitions until she dreams a sexy stranger is gunned down during the brutal hijacking of a commercial airliner. When events in her dream start coming true, she heads to the flight’s departure gate. To her shock, she recognizes the man she’d watched die the night before.

Lieutenant Commander Zane Winters comes from a bloodline of elite warriors with psychic abilities. When Zane and two of his platoon buddies arrive at Sea-Tac Airport, he has a vision of his teammates’ corpses. Then she arrives—a leggy blonde who sets off a different kind of alarm.

As Beth teams up with Zane, they discover the hijacking is the first step in a secret cartel’s deadly global agenda and that key personnel within the FBI are compromised. To survive the forces mobilizing against them, Beth will need to open herself to a psychic connection with the sexy SEAL who claims to be her soul mate.

My Thoughts: Holy hotness, Batman! Where did that beginning come from? Wow! From the first moment that Zane sets eyes on Beth things felt steamy. *fans self* And then they talk to one another and the steam turned into flat-out flames. If those two had been any more intense, I don't think the airport would have been left standing.

Zane and his team are awesomely Alpha and they move to contain the threat that arises quickly. Although this is Zane and Beth's story, the team is unquestionably a team and they face all the hurdles thrown at them together. I loved that they accepted Beth's dream with very little argument. I loved the little flashes of normalcy that each man brought to the table as well as the focused training that made them elite soldiers. It made them feel human and real.

This book tackles some dark subject matter but I liked that the victims were able to hold it together and be strong in the face of the terror that's inflicted on them. I'm excited to see how they fare in later books.

Seriously, I was DYING to read the next book in the series as soon as I finished this one. It's fun, hot, sexy, bloody, full of action and the final revelations left me wide-eyed and wondering how the team was going to finagle their way out of the rather sticky situation that looks to be brewing on the horizon. I'm ready. Bring it.

Books in this series
1. Forged in Fire - Paperback | Kindle
2. Forged in Ice
3. Forged in Fury
4. Forged in Betrayal

Author Links
| Website | Twitter | Amazon |

Reading challenges: Ebook Challenge, Why Buy the Cow? Challenge
Forged in Fire was a free Kindle download I picked up on 02/23/12.

Review: Murder a' la Mode by G.A. McKevett

Schedule of Events:

Mon: Classic Mystery

Tues: Romantic Suspense

Wed: Urban Fantasy

Thurs: Thriller

Fri: Cozy Mystery

Sat: Paranormal Elements

Murder a' la Mode (Savannah Reid #10) by G.A. McKevett
Synopsis (Goodreads):

Voluptuous P.I. Savannah Reid's culinary cravings come second only to her appetite for adventure. Of course, every girl needs a little down time, and Savannah adores curling up with a box of chocolates, a steaming Irish coffee, and an even steamier romance novel---preferably one with sexy Lance Roman on the cover. But when she meets her dream hunk in person, things take a decidedly nightmarish turn. As a special birthday treat, Savannah's friends have arranged for her to compete for Lance's affections on a reality TV show called Man of My Dreams. She and four other women will be living in a medieval castle with Lance, trying to win his heart. Unfortunately, the antics take a sinister turn when one of the show's producers, Tess Jarvis, turns up dead. It appears she was felled by a carton of Killer Fudge ice cream, but Savannah's convinced there's more to the story. Turns out she's right. It seems no one liked Tess---not her unhappy husband, or the scheming contestants, or all the disgruntled employees she so heinously wronged. This show is quickly turning into the worst kind of soap opera---with some footage that'll never make it on the air.

My Thoughts: Okay. I have to admit that cozies are not my favorite type of mysteries. I like my death a little more bloody and a lot more gruesome and dark than cozies tend to give me. I've said this before and I'll probably say it again, but cozies are fluff. They're entertaining, but I don't tend to seek them out. Yes, feel free to point out that the ones I head straight for usually involve a #NakedWerewolf chasing his destined mate so that they can have large quantities of sex while defeating bad guys. Now, that's quality entertainment!

But back to the murder at hand. I didn't dislike this book by any stretch of the imagination. It was just one of those that's fun and then easily put aside. Savannah isn't unlikable, by any means. I like a woman who OWNS her look and is comfortable in her body. I didn't so much care for her creepy-crawly fascination with Lance Roman, but it did add some highly amusing interludes to their rather odd little reality show.

I think the biggest stumbling block for me was that I expected more foodage in this book. Savannah likes to eat and she's constantly heading into the kitchen to rustle something up (as it turns out, the kitchen is a hotspot for gossip and other clues) but this isn't a foodie mystery. Like, the food was secondary. I don't know if I'm explaining that well, but I expected more and was a little disappointed with what we were given.

Fun if you're looking for a light read but nothing earth-shattering overall.

Books in this series
1. Just Desserts
2. Bitter Sweets
3. Killer Calories
4. Cooked Goose.
5. Sugar and Spite
6. Sour Grapes
7. Peaches and Screams
8. Death by Chocolate
9. Cereal Killer
10. Murder a' la Mode - Paperback | Kindle
11. Corpse Suzette
12. Fat Free and Fatal
13. Poisoned Tarts
14. A Body to Die For
15. Wicked Craving
16. A Decadent Way to Die
17.Buried in Buttercream

Author Links
(G.A. McKevett is a pseudonym for Sonja Massie)
| Website | Amazon |

Reading challenges: Ebook Challenge, Why Buy the Cow? Challenge
Murder a' la Mode was a free Kindle download I picked up on 01/31/11.

Review: Undone by Karin Slaughter

Schedule of Events:

Mon: Classic Mystery

Tues: Romantic Suspense

Wed: Urban Fantasy

Thurs: Thriller

Fri: Cozy Mystery

Sat: Paranormal Elements

Undone (Will Trent #3) by Karin Slaughter
Synopsis (Goodreads):

When a tortured young woman enters the trauma center of an Atlanta hospital, Dr. Sara Linton is thrust into a desperate police investigation with Special Agent Will Trent and his partner, Faith Mitchell. Though guarding their own wounds and their own secrets, Sara, Will, and Faith find that they are all that stand between a madman and his next victim.

My Thoughts: I can hardly get my thoughts in order after this book. It is probably one of the most compelling books I've read in a while. Between the brutal horror of what was done to the victims and the incredible characters that populated every piece of this novel, I am in awe of Karin Slaughter's storytelling abilities.

To start with... Will. For the love of small furry animals, SOMEBODY GIVE THAT MAN A HUG! AND A COOKIE! AND ANOTHER HUG! I adored him. I want more Will immediately. He's damaged and he makes some terrible choices in his personal life but he's a good man at heart. His upbringing colors his approach to the detective work he does in such an astounding way. He doesn't want to be "that cop" who's just as bad as the people he's investigating and the one time he snaps, it haunts him. He's methodical. He's kind. He *cares* about the world around him. His illiteracy makes him incredibly versatile in so many ways. He's managed to find ways around his inability to read and the more we got to see how his mind works, the more I wanted to see him triumph against all the odds thrown at him.

Faith. I didn't always like her. Not because of her bitchiness (which was pretty epic at times) but because of her bone deep denial about what was happening to her body. Dude. Suck it up. Go to the doctor. Get the facts. DEAL WITH IT. Part of me found her reaction to her medical issues entirely plausible and part of me wanted to shake her and chuck her head first into an exam room. Still, I liked her volatility against Will's placid approach to their job. She is an excellent foil for him as a partner.

Sara. I LOVED the chemistry she had with all the characters but especially Will. Since I kinda hate the direction his personal life is mired in, I think she is just what Will needs. Watching her come alive and *want* to help made her imminently likeable. Heck, I just liked Sara. She's got something that I'd like to see more of.

The bad guy does some truly horrendous things in this book and following the clues as the investigation team unravels the mystery was chilling. The reveal both surprised me and made perfect sense.

Bottom line: After just one book, I am irreversibly smitten with Will Trent. I want more of him. I want more time in his life. I want to see him toss the toxic Angie out like so much garbage. I want to see him have a decent shot at being happy. That's not too much to ask, is it?

Books in this series
1. Triptych
2. Fractured
3. Undone - Paperback | Kindle
4. Broken
5. Fallen
6. Snatched
7. Criminal

Author Links
| Website | Facebook | Amazon |

Profiling Mysteries: Why Urban Fantasy Works for Me

Why Urban Fantasy Works for Me...

There's something about falling into a world that could be ours if you stripped away the demons or the faeries or the vampires. It can be frightening or beautiful, deadly or peaceful. Throw in a little murder and mayhem and I'm as happy as a clam.

What is it about Urban Fantasy that captures my attention? Is it the characters? They *are* generally badasses with a chip of their shoulder and fighting skills that leave their enemies gasping. Gin Blanco, I'm looking at you on this one. The women are strong, the men are alpha (oh, are they!), and the bad guys have a tendency to gut people for looking at them wrong.

I think the thing that draws me in is that these worlds are so wonderfully like ours yet there's no way in hell I'd ever be able to survive in them. I'd fall like a house of cards if someone breathed on me too heavily. I'd run crying to my mama if I ever had to work a murder scene where an unhinged magic user had flayed his victim alive to harvest their power. Thank you to Kara Gillian and her wacky magical shenanigans for that visual.

Urban fantasy tends to lean toward fantastic mysteries. And when I say "fantastic" I mean that they involve both paranormal elements (what was the last UF you read with a plain old everyday human as the killer?) and they tend to be wonderfully gruesome. Many have an overriding mystery arc - What sort of creatures are our good guys up against? Who is the shadow-clad stranger who keeps popping up to dispense timely advice? Why is our hero or heroine being targeted?

The appeal of Urban Fantasy is in the darkness it surrounds itself in. It's deadly and seductive. It fights and it loves. It kills things without warning.

Who doesn't get a kick out of that??

Review: My Life As a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland

Schedule of Events:

Mon: Classic Mystery

Tues: Romantic Suspense

Wed: Urban Fantasy

Thurs: Thriller

Fri: Cozy Mystery

Sat: Paranormal Elements

My Life As a White Trash Zombie (White Trash Zombie #1) by Diana Rowland
Synopsis (Goodreads):

Angel Crawford is a loser.

Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.

That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in an horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue—and that it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse.

Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey—just when she's hungriest!

Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat.

Literally.

My Thoughts: I got to the end of this book and had this sort of giddy delight over it. It was fun. It was fun and it ended on a note that left me completely satisfied. I almost needed a cigarette and cold beer, I tell you. Instead, I'll just bask in the wonderfulness of a zombie book where the zombie is a contributing member of society and actually has more prospects dead than she had alive.

Let's face it, Angel's life is in a slow spiral to nowhere before her little accident. She can't hold down a job, her dad needs some serious alcohol rehab, and her boyfriend is a piece of work. Being turned into a zombie ends up putting her on a path that she otherwise wouldn't have taken. She cleans up good. Well, provided she remembers to eat her dose brains every so often.

The mystery was nicely balanced and kept me guessing until the end. Between Angel attempting to figure out what she had become and what sort of upkeep was now required of her and the headless bodies that kept popping up (not literally), I was hooked. With no one to guide her in this second chance at living, Angel ended up thinking outside the box. For all that she continually puts herself down for dropping out of school and being  white trash, she was creative in her way of getting answers to things that had others stumped. I'm very interested to see how this carries over into the next book.

While I'm a hardcore zombie lover (err... not literally), I think this is a great book for both people who enjoy their zombies and for those that have never dipped their toes into this particular sub-genre. It's fun. It's fast. It's full of the occasional rotting bits. Good stuff!

Books in this series
1. My Life As a White Trash Zombie - Paperback | Kindle
2. Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues
3. White Trash Zombie Apocalypse

Author Links
| Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon |

Review: Tribute by Nora Roberts

Schedule of Events:

Mon: Classic Mystery

Tues: Romantic Suspense

Wed: Urban Fantasy

Thurs: Thriller

Fri: Cozy Mystery

Sat: Paranormal Elements

Tribute by Nora Roberts
Synopsis (Goodreads):

Cilla McGowan, a former child star, has found a more satisfying life restoring homes. So she comes to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to save the dilapidated farmhouse that once belonged to her grandmother—a legendary actress who died of an overdose more than thirty years ago.

Plunging into the project with gusto, Cilla’s almost too busy and exhausted to notice her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer. Determined not to carry on the family tradition of ill-fated romances, Cilla steels herself against Ford’s quirky charm, though she can’t help indulging in a little fantasy.

But it’s reality that holds its share of dangers for Cilla. A cache of unsigned letters found in the attic points to a mysterious romance in her grandmother’s life—and may be the catalyst for a frightening, violent assault. And if Cilla and Ford are unable to sort out who is targeting her and why, she may, like her world-famous grandmother, be cut down in the prime of her life.

My Thoughts: Whoa, mama! Can Nora Roberts spin a good tale or can Nora Roberts spin a good tale? The twists and turns, the whys, the bridge between the past and the present... they were so expertly interwoven that I couldn't tear myself away.
 
Cilla and Ford were so wonderfully alive in this book. Cilla's passion for restoring and creating and rebuilding was vivid and lively. Ford's ability to debate like a hardcore fanboy and *see* things with an artist's eye made me swoon. I think the fangirl in me was crying out in joy at some of the things he said. Oh, Ford. You had me at Battlestar Galactica.

The mystery of Cilla's grandmother unfolds slowly - much like the old farm that Cilla is restoring. As the house begins to come back to life, Cilla's desire to understand if the old letters tie into her grandmother's death intensifies. Ford's willingness to help, to listen, to be there for her when she needs him cracks the ice around Cilla's heart and allows her to grow into the strong confident woman that he sees when he looks at her.

It probably doesn't need to be said but I totally didn't see the resolution coming. I am seriously deficient in deciphering clues. I'm thinking of starting a club for all of us that can't figure out who the bad guy is until the final scene. I'm going to be the president. Just so you know. Anyway. The mystery kept me engaged nearly as much as Cilla and Ford's romance did. All around, this was a very satisfying read.

Author Links
| Website | Facebook | Amazon | Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle |

Review: The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

Schedule of Events:

Mon: Classic Mystery

Tues: Romantic Suspense

Wed: Urban Fantasy

Thurs: Thriller

Fri: Cozy Mystery

Sat: Paranormal Elements

The Moving Finger (Miss Marple) by Agatha Christie
Synopsis (Goodreads):

The placid village of Lymstock seems the perfect place for Jerry Burton to recuperate from his accident under the care of his sister, Joanna. But soon a series of vicious poison-pen letters destroys the village's quiet charm, eventually causing one recipient to commit suicide. The vicar, the doctor, the servants--all are on the verge of accusing one another when help arrives from an unexpected quarter. The vicar's houseguest happens to be none other than Jane Marple.

My Thoughts: This book manages to confound me every time I read it. This is besides the fact that I couldn't figure out who did it - in ANY mystery, really - to save my life. I think the reason it confuses me is that I really like the book despite the fact that Miss Marple doesn't show up until well past the halfway point. I get so tangled up in the lives of the residents of Lymstock that I don't even notice that she's not there until she appears. That is some damn good writing if you ask me.

The plot is tightly woven with nearly all the major characters in the town acting suspiciously at one point or another. Probably the only people that I never suspected were Jerry (our narrator) and Joanna (his sister) since they hadn't yet come to Lymstock when the nasty letters started. Other than that... everyone was fair game. I also enjoyed the odd friendship that springs up between Jerry and Megan, the mostly forgotten daughter of one of the town bigwigs. She's a strange, fey girl but it works for her and Jerry's anger at the way Megan was treated worked for me.

The writing is lyrical and it easily pulls you into a time when the "house girl" still came by the tidy up and lay out tea. Agatha Christie's ability to weave a convoluted tale set in the past and make it feel as if you'd be able to travel down a country road and find this little village just waiting for you boggles me. In my mind, she is undisputedly worthy of being one of the best selling authors of all time.

Books in this series
1. Murder at the Vicarage
2. The Thirteen Problems
3. The Body in the Library
4. The Moving Finger - Paperback | Kindle
5.A Murder is Announced
6. The Do It With Mirrors
7. A Pocket Full of Rye
8. 4:50 From Paddington
9. The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
10. A Caribbean Mystery
11. At Bertram's Hotel
12. Nemesis
13. Sleeping Murder
14. Miss Marple's Final Case

Author Links
| Wikipedia | Amazon |