Murder In Thrall by Anne Cleeland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an early eArc from Netgalley. I love British mysteries. I have to admit that I have not been reading straight mysteries for a while. But, this mystery does have a twist in it and it makes it more interesting. Murder in Thrall is the story about a DC, Kathleen Doyle, from Dublin who moves to London to work for the police and is given a chance to work with one of the most famous investigators on the force who also happens to be an aristocrat, Lord Acton. Part of what is interesting about this story is its layout, the order in which the story is told. We join the story with the duo already mid-investigation of a murder. One of the things that I did not like about Murder in Thrall is that though I liked the attempt at how the story was arranged it did at times confuse me. Some of the Irish slang also was a bit baffling to me at times. I am having trouble determining the definition of a section seven. It appears to have several different meanings. I will go with stalker laws. We get a better feel for this as the story moves along. There are some great red herrings in this story and as Doyle moves along throughout her day her talent for interrogation and reading people tells a lot of the story.

One of the great things about Murder in Thrall is the cast of characters. I did miss having a better sense of place. I love London and the story just does not give a good feel for where the story happens. There are some pretty diverse people in this police department. They are flawed and quite interesting. They make the story stand out more. Everyone has these quirks in their personalities that make it plausible for them to be the killer. The first two murders just do not seem to have any rhyme or reason that make sense so finding out who the killer is and why really makes you sit back and think "I just could not have seen that". I had the feeling that this is the first of a series and I have to admit that I liked the Epilogue and the information that it gave. It was an interesting way of giving something good about Acton and Doyle and makes me look forward to seeing more of their story.

On Midnight Wings by Adrian Phoenix
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an eArc from Edelweiss. It seems like we waited years for this follow-up and though I loved it, something felt like it was missing. The time between Etched in Bone and On Midnight Wings was a bit long so I had to stop every now and then and remind myself about parts of the story. The story starts where Etched in Bone leaves off and Heather and Dante are both in their own situations where they are in danger. The others are trying to determine what happened to them and deal with the losses they have had over the last couple of books. Von is amazing but he has his own situation apart from trying to find Heather and Dante.

On Midnight Wings still has several arcs going on, Lucien playing politics with the angels, the fallout from the mini-war Dante is fighting with the other vampires in New Orleans, Heather's father trying to control his daughters, the FBI trying to control Dante and Heather, the vampires coming up to speed on Dante and wanting to control him, the organization Von works for wanted their stake claimed and the rogue group that experimented on Dante. Of course there are a few little splinter arcs going on but, I'm not sure how Adrian Phoenix keeps it all straight. There has to be some sort of storyboard going on because she never misses touching on any of them.

I have to admit I am not a huge fan of the way each book ends, with ginourmous cliff hangers right in the middle of something exploding. Though I loved the book I was left wanting, wanting some sort of resolution of something. This book in particular is harder to review because to explain why I was left wanting means spilling the beans on some things and I prefer to not give spoilers. Suffice it to say that there was Heather trying to get to Dante and the rest trying to get to Heather and Dante and I wanted to see more forward momentum. But, for Dante he had some other things he was trying to resolve. It was full of action and you still love the gang you just wish some things had happened more quickly or differently. I'll still be looking forward the next book and how all these things turn out because it is a great series with some great characters, flaws and all.

Thankless in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I never think I should write huge reviews of J. D. Robb's books because she has so many readers that the word is already. I will post my blurb from the other day:

"I have always disliked the villains throughout this entire series, but, there is something about this guy, this ugggg, I want to kick the crap out of him. J. D. Robb has outdone herself with giving us this huge glimpse into the bad guy and I think that is the difference. This is the largest glimpse into the bad guy's thoughts, processes and crimes that we have ever had making it seem like he is the worst one."

I can say the ending was fulfilling. The story was exciting and we got to visit with some old friends and I always love when Roark's family comes from Ireland. They are hilarious and I wish we could see more of them. This book almost felt like it was a turning point in the series. I have no idea to what but we do see that Eve has grown so much and we see a lot of that in Thankless in Death. Oddly enough I'm always reminded that if she hadn't found Roark I would have loved to see her with Morris. They have a connection and it isn't just their jobs. Most of the time I don't think Eve recognizes when she has a connection with someone until she is forced to see it.

I am excited to see where the series goes next!

Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I know I do not have to tell anyone that has already read Magic Rises that this book is great. I am the first to admit that I was apprehensive about reading it because I have been so invested in this story. I own each release in both ebook and audiobook and the earlier releases I had the paperbacks to go with my audiobooks. With the audiobooks I like to go through the series at least once a year. I started out listening to the book on my long commute to and from my office. I finished one book yesterday and decided to read it on my Kindle and ended up spending most of the afternoon into the night finishing it. I couldn't walk away. I had to know how the story finished. One of the things that kept going through my mind as the story was winding down was how Ilona Andrews has always been able to tap into my emotions with this series. Anyone in my family and close friends can tell you I avoid books and movies that make me cry or make me sad. But, this series is one where, from Kate's loss in the very first book when we first meet her, to the action and emotion-packed events in Magic Rises, I just couldn't walk away.

Magic Rises is the continuation of the Kate Daniels series but it is so much more. It is a story that becomes the story of all the people she interacts with whether friend or enemy. She develops relationships and feelings that are totally against how she was raised. As Hugh told her "we were raised to be serial killers". That is an extremely profound statement. The fact that they both had the same background but evolved into such different people speaks volumes. Based upon how the series has gone so far I think that despite Kate's bloodline I do not think that blood will always out, as they say. Kate has forged her own path and I believe when everything comes to a head she will continue to do that.

There is still the great displays of humor and I found myself thinking that possibly one of the reasons this series works the way that it does is because of the good give-and-take of the authors. I attended a great online chat and it was fun and interesting to watch them interact with each other. I had this chain of thought, right there is the heart of Curran and Kate. They leap off the page when we read their story because a lot of what is put into them comes from not only the imagination of Ilona Andrews but also from the heart of the authors. If you spend any time with Magic Rises you will see that it fully deserves its well-earned spot on the NYT Bestseller list.

Stick and Move - Guest Blog Post by Ted Goeglein author of Flicker & Burn - A Cold Fury Novel

It’s an old boxing term – jab your opponent (stick) and get away (move) before she can do it back. It’s also a good description of how my protagonist, Sara Jane Rispoli, fights her way through the COLD FURY trilogy. In FLICKER & BURN, she comes out swinging again, this time even harder.

I boxed at a place in Chicago, Windy City Gym, which had been around since the early 1920’s and looked it, with warped floorboards, sweat- and bloodstained rings, and slowly twirling heavy bags. Real fighters trained there, people who wanted to be pros, including one of the toughest young women I’ve ever known.

She gave me the idea for Sara Jane to be a boxer.

It’s a sport that requires strength, but even more, dexterity and smarts. The young woman – I’ll call her Rosa – had all of that in abundance. She was one part gladiator, one part ballerina, and a hundred percent Einstein. If she got hit, Rosa learned from it on her feet, reacting in a way that made sure she didn’t get hit twice. And she employed the wisest move in boxing – if she was getting hurt, she ran. Not out of the ring, of course, but in a way that made an opponent chase her.

And then she’d stop abruptly, feet planted, body squared, and throw a left hook.

I learned a lot by watching Rosa and put almost all of it into Sara Jane. Throughout the trilogy, my heroine knows when to stick, when to move, and above all, she never stops fighting.

Flicker & Burn by T.M. Goeglein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Flicker & Burn
T. M. Goeglein
I received and ARC from the publishers for review. I loved Cold Fury and was waiting on pins and needles to get a hold of Flicker & Burn. While I was reading it there are times that I wanted to inhale it whole and times I wanted to slow down and make it last longer. It is that good! Part of me was thinking how long before we get where Sara Jane is trying to go? I can’t take this. The other part of me thought when is she going to box someone’s ears? She is straddling this line between being a teenager who goes to school and hangs out with a best friend and being a mafia princess of sorts. I have to admit that mafia books and movies are not my thing. But, the author has wrapped this thing up in such a nice package that I can’t help but enjoy it. I have to admit I am starting to despise clowns also.

I look at the really nice cover of Flicker & Burn and see the blurb “A heart-pounding mafia action-adventure” and think wow that is so true. This book is full of chase scenes, fight scenes and a great mystery which turns multipronged. That was handled very well. We get to meet some of Sara Jane’s family and from the beginning I wondered why they were suddenly there. I have to admit I thought they worked for the people holding Sara Jane’s family. It was great to be wrong. Their part of the story was a great addition to the storyline. This part of the story and the part with Max did bring out some emotions for me because it really portrayed how alone Sara Jane seems in this fight. Doug’s exciting part of the story also brings that home.

One of the big breakout facets of Flicker & Burn is seeing more of Sara Jane’s immersion into the Chicago mafia. We meet some colorful characters. There is some great character development in this edition and it looks like we will see more of them in future books as opposed to only getting summaries of what occurred from Sara Jane. We got to see blow-by-blow, if you will, interactions. I have to admit that I hope that things change with regard to her family. I am one of those people that do not like when the storyline goes on and on across multiple books with no resolution. I would like to see a new story arc with regard to her family after they are home and the family is back together. Lou is fascinating and I can’t wait to see more of him in the books. Flicker & Burn is a great addition to the series and I look forward to seeing where the Cold Fury series goes from here.

The Bleiberg Project: A Consortium Thriller by David Khara


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I received an e-copy of The Bleiberg Project by David Khara from Netgalley. I have to admit when I think about reading anything related to the Holocaust it makes me want to run the other way. Knowing everything that was done and probably not being aware of some things makes it a hard subject to digest. I have to admit this is my first foray into reading about this topic for that very reason. But, when I read the synopsis I thought this sounds really good and just maybe there is a good enough ending that I will not feel totally depressed afterwards.

The characterization in the story was done really well. I have to admit that Jeremy Corbin, even without knowing his secret, makes it hard to like him. He is quite witty and also so darn down on himself it makes you want to avoid him. But, as the book goes on you start to become invested in his pain and hope that somewhere down the line things get better for him. Oddly enough his thoughts about Jackie Wells at first seemed a bit off to me, then as I read on I decided he is just a bit self-centered and immature and kind of thinks of her in high-school terms. Jeremy takes body blow after body blow in losses and as he deals with them throughout the book you start to see him maturing and growing and realizing how he lost more than he realized with his father.

I love reading books based in other countries, especially Europe and Eastern Europe. This book did a good job of giving me a bit of armchair travel. There was not a lot by way of describing the sites in the different places they visited when they arrived in Switzerland and made their way across to Poland but, there were enough of the descriptions that it grabbed my interest. What was really great was the tie-in to some of the rumors of some of the medical testing that happened in the camps. They were nicely woven into this book. But, my all-time favorite part of this book was Eytan Morg. I love reading about and seeing stories on television about the Kidon unit of The Mossad. Granted they are not nice people but, this was my first book that I got to read about some of what they do and what is known about their skills. It took me back to my favorite parts of NCIS and the character Ziva who was also Kidon. Eytan was larger than life and not just due to his size. He was this amazing, scarred man who didn’t allow himself to have anything other than the work he did and we find out why in The Bleiberg Project. That part of the story was riveting. Eytan’s fight scenes were awesome and jumped off the page when you read them. Interestingly enough at the beginning of the book you don’t know whose side he is on so he comes off as if he might be one of the bad guys but, he is so much more.

I just read on Goodreads that this is the start of a series and I have to say a very good start and I look forward to following this series every step of the way!
Review can also be seen along with more great information about The Bleiberg Project by David Khara at http://LadyTechiesBookMusings.blogspo....