Every so often, I come across a book that doesn’t
exactly fit into the typical mold of a genre. The Demons Beneath is one
of those books.
Part-demonic possession/horror, part
crime-procedural, ALL interesting, this is a tightly written page-turner. From
the introduction of the characters that read like a television show to the final
twist literally on the last page, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
The author did a fantastic job of creating
tension in both plot-lines and keeping the reader guessing. The way the book is
written made me feel (at first) as if I was reading two different books, which
was unique. When the plot lines seemingly merged (no spoilers) it was natural
but done in a way that ratcheted up the tension.
I liked how the main character, DI Daniel
Graves, was not entirely put together. He wasn’t the perfect policeman; he had
doubts and fears like any typical law-enforcement officer would. I appreciate
when an author seems to understand law enforcement and the pressures they face.
I also have to say that the title is
brilliant. There is so much in the book that is covered by the title but in
different ways. It’s hard to explain without giving away plot points. Some
people believe that demons do exist and are the cause of evil, but it also alludes
to the personal “demons” that guide peoples’ actions or make them feel
inadequate.
It’s challenging to write a review of a book
this twisty without giving anything away. But I will say that while the rest of
the book was very good, the end had a twist I did not see coming and made me
want more of the story right away. Too bad I have to wait until the next
installment in the series.
The Demons Beneath is a perfect book for the upcoming fall
season, especially close to Halloween. I highly recommend it.
On the one hand, I appreciated the setting of
higher education. I have extensive knowledge of the current trends in higher
ed, and the author did a great job of describing the problems that colleges are
facing these days.
The “for-profit” models, the focus on FTEs and
enrollment at the expense of programs, the theory of using a business model hierarchy
(CEOs, COOs, etc.) instead of traditional positions (Presidents, Provosts,
etc.), and especially the propensity to use adjuncts as a replacement for tenured
faculty are all very real to today’s world of education.
I also thought that the murder mystery at the
heart of the book was intriguing, and the “whodunnit” nature of that thread is
what ultimately kept me reading.
Unfortunately, there were a couple of things
that made this book a more difficult read than it should have been.
First, the focus on neoliberalism in colleges is
misguided in today’s higher ed universe. While it is true that the emphasis on
capitalistic practices in higher ed has grown, it is by no means the driving
force of today’s colleges.
Indeed, the author almost totally lost me with
the statement that colleges have experienced a rightward shift since Thatcher
and Reagan.
Now, I may be misunderstanding the intent, but
that could not be further from the truth. Colleges have become places where group-think
is encouraged, and opposing viewpoints are to be ridiculed or (in many cases)
completely shut down. And this is all done from the leftist point of view. So,
to say that colleges have shifted right really rubbed me the wrong way.
I also thought that the author got too carried
away with the minutiae of academia. I found it to be interesting because of my
background, but an average reader could find it challenging to wade through a
lot of the detailed academic descriptions to get to the heart of the plot.
Overall, it wasn’t a horrible book. But it certainly
could have been tightened up in several places to make it a more exciting and
accurate read.
This is becoming one of my favorite series. I like the setting of Seaside/Monterey. I especially like how the heroines in the series are strong women who support each other. This time, we get Sarah, who works at Bliss, a lingerie store. Her romantic interest–well, the attractive guy, but a jerk–is Jared.
Jared is a fairly typical romantic hero, in that he is gruff on the outside for personal reasons, but the heroine can really get him going. His character had more depth than Sarah. It felt like her backstory was a little less fleshed-out, and I wished that her brother and sister had played a bigger part. As it was, they were mentioned off-handedly as a plot point but didn’t have much else to do.
Of course, you know from the title that there is a “fake date” involved, this time to an engagement party in San Francisco. The couple has to work through some family-related stumbling blocks and, as usual, there are a few misunderstandings. I thought the characters involved with the engagement party were interesting because they were not the stereotypical type one might find. There was no bitchiness (which was refreshing).
But there is a HEA. Overall, it is an enjoyable book with good characters, and I look forward to the next in the series. I was really happy to see that Jared’s sister Candice is getting a story, but there are plenty of gals left to match up!
Single father to a daughter born with special needs, Greg’s whole life is advocating for his little girl in a society that doesn’t understand mental handicaps.
He isn’t supposed to want anything more…
Georgia dreams of a better life — and she’s willing to work for it. Two jobs in Chicago to make ends meet, she doesn’t have time for a relationship and no interest in one, either.
That is, until she meets Greg. He’s got eyes like a summer night and a voice she can’t sweat out.
I have always liked crime-solving
entertainment, from tv shows to board games (does anyone remember Electronic
Detective?) to books. I’m usually partial to grittier crime novels because they
often contain twists and are harder to solve. But every so often, I enjoy a
simple cozy mystery where I can “go along for the ride.”
When I get into that mood, Leighan Dobbs is one of my go-to authors. I am happy to report that her new release, A Purrfect Alibi is another winner.
From the opening introductions of mediums and
psychics to the reveal of “whodunnit,” I was thoroughly entertained by this
book. I love how the cats are important characters and are often smarter than
the humans (anyone who owns a cat knows that this is true anyway).
In some ways, these books remind me of the Mrs. Murphy mysteries, mainly because of the way the animals communicate with each other and humans. But this series is much cozier and “fun-loving” (if murder could be called fun).
Honestly, you can read the blurbs for the plot, and with it being a mystery, I’m not about to write any spoilers. As always, you’ll have to read it yourself to find out what happens. But I will tell you that it is well-written and enjoyable. With the weather turning fall-ish quickly, it’s time to cuddle up with a cozy, and you won’t go wrong with this one.
USA Today bestselling author, Leighann Dobbs, discovered her passion for writing after a twenty year career as a software engineer. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband Bruce, their trusty Chihuahua mix Mojo and beautiful rescue cat, Kitty. Her book “Dead Wrong” won the “Best Mystery Romance” award at the 2014 Indie Romance Convention. Her book “Ghostly Paws” was the 2015 Chanticleer Mystery & Mayhem First Place category winner in the Animal Mystery category.
The story grabbed me from the very beginning
and did not let me go until the very last word. I cannot remember the last time
a book had me so enthralled.
It is apparent right away that there is much
more to Evelyn Taylor-Clarke (Mrs. T-C to the workers at the home she resides
in) than meets the eye. From the moment that she fills in her first crossword
puzzle, the reader knows that she has led a fascinating life.
The book has eleven “Parts,” with each section
describing a segment of Mrs. T-C’s life. The chapters within the parts alternate
between letters to her husband and the action taking place at the time. The time-shifting
jumps around quite a bit; it is not entirely linear. But the author treats this
with a deft hand, and I never felt lost. It made the reading that much more
interesting because the events sometimes alluded to the letters and vice versa.
It was a smart way to keep the narrative focused.
As Mrs. T-C’s secrets reveal themselves, the
reader also learns that revenge is a motivator, both on a personal scale for
her and a national level post-WWII. There are well-drawn parallels that bring emotion
to the forefront of the story.
Ultimately, however, hers is a story of a life
full of secrets, told in memories, and perfectly honed to the way she wants it
told. Reading her perspective, and knowing her inner thoughts, gave me great
respect for the life that she led. I love that the author made me feel that
deeply about a character.
There were even a few twists that I did not see coming, which made me appreciate the craftsmanship of the plot even more. Additionally, the author does a fantastic job of relating some of the unspoken horrors of post-WWII life. I’m not going to elaborate, but I guarantee at least one of them is something you probably never considered. I’ve studied that era extensively, and it had never crossed my mind.
In case you couldn’t tell (and if the second line of this review wasn’t clear enough), this is an incredible book, and you do NOT want to miss it.
Make no mistake; this is a stellar read! From the thoroughly realistic characters (including the mysterious main character and her real jerk of a niece) to the intricate plot, I loved everything about it. I especially liked how Evelyn (Evie/Eva) was a master of manipulation. She was one of the most intriguing characters I have ever “met.” Do yourself a huge favor and pick this one up. For a full review, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and the author for a complimentary, pre-release digital ARC of the book.
Following an eventful career as a public relations consultant, specialising in business and travel, Suzanne Goldring turned to writing the kind of novels she likes to read, about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people. Two of her novels have been placed in the Winchester Writers’ Conference First Three Pages of a Novel competition. Her novel, The Way We Lied, can be read as a serial on her blog site, suzannegoldring.wordpress.com. She is currently working on a novel about delusion, deception, and death, set in Corfu.
Suzanne drew on her experiences of living in a timbered 14th-century house, where she raised two daughters and a variety of livestock, to write Powerless. All her other novels are pure fiction and any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
I picked this book up expecting it to be a decent psychological thriller with the ever-popular “shocking twist.” What I got was a lot more than that.
On the surface, The Good Neighbor is about a
missing girl and how the community (one neighbor in particular) comes together
to help find her. On another level, however, there are astute observations
about homeschooling, social media, and society as a whole that gave this book
tremendous depth.
Being a homeschooling mom myself, I am always
a little suspicious when I see it as a plot point. Is the author going to do it
justice, or go with a stereotype? I was pleased to find that this author knows
her stuff. Whether she homeschools herself or spoke with homeschooling
families, she perfectly captured so many aspects of the experience.
Brittany’s observations about her homeschooled
peers were especially true-to-life. While they may be more advanced in book
knowledge, there is a large number of students who falter at social situations
and lack common sense knowledge gained through peers.
She also described a significant attraction of
homeschooling – the ability to focus on what interests a student and complete
guided learning instead of having to do rote memorization or be distracted by 30
other students.
Obviously, I was impressed with how the author
handled this sometimes controversial topic. But I digress from the actual plot.
I thought the author also had some accurate reflections
on social media and its impact on society, which was illustrated by Taylor’s
obsession with her Facebook page. I found it interesting that the more Taylor
wanted to build community within her neighborhood, the more she seemed to
bastardize it for her purposes, which brought her motives into question.
As with all of my reviews, you will not find
any reveals or spoilers here. But I will say that the book went in a different
direction than I expected it to more than a few times. And the shocking twist?
Yeah, it’s in there. And that is what ultimately made it an excellent read.
The Good Neighbor by Cathryn Grant My rating: 4 of 5 stars You will find everything from commentary on social media to accurate descriptions of homeschooling in this psychological thriller. The characters are realistic, the action is plausible, and the author gives the story depth by weaving the topics mentioned above into what could be a run-of-the-mill basic plot. It was definitely a page-turner, and I highly recommend it. For a full review, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. This review was written based on a complimentary pre-release digital ARC of the book. View all my reviews
About Cathryn Grant:
When she’s not writing, Cathryn reads fiction, eavesdrops, and tries to play golf without hitting her ball into the sand or the water. She lives on the Central California coast with her husband and two cats. Cathryn’s fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazines, The Shroud Quarterly Journal, and The Best of Every Day Fiction. Her story “I Was Young Once” received an honorable mention in the 2007 Zoetrope Fiction contest. She’s the author of the Alexandra Mallory Psychological Suspense series, Psychological Thrillers, Suburban Noir novels, The Haunted Ship Trilogy, and the Madison Keith Ghost Story series.
I was happy to find this short book because it
was the perfect piece of escapism. There were not a lot of deep thoughts or
plot twists to complicate matters. I was able just to read and enjoy the ride.
Alice was a character that many people could relate to – a scorned woman who wanted to get on with her life but still had enough anger left for some revenge (even though it’s not exactly what she thought she needed).
The author did move things right along, so
there was not a lot of time to dig deep into motivation or reasoning. Events
happened, and repercussions that led to more decisions.
(I know this all sounds a little vague, but because
the story is brief and the action moves quickly, I don’t want to give away any
of the plot points)
I thought the author did a great job of
tracing the indecisiveness of Alice. There were times when she seemed
thoroughly happy with where she was, yet in an instant was insecure and doubting
the trajectory of her new life. There were moments that it was hard to tell if
Alice was relying on what she thought was happening with her trinkets, or if
she was finding the strength within herself to move on. I liked this dual
focus.
Do yourself a favor and
pick this one up.
About Rachel Ellyn:
Life and loves after the career.
With degrees in Finance and Economics, Rachel found wonderful success in the business world, which took her I.T. and financial process consulting international. However, with her mind focused on business, and with the lack of training and mentoring in her personal life, marriage success eluded her.
After foraging on a path of self-awareness and exploration with a determination to avoid repeating patterns again, she found the key to relationship bliss. Now, combining her passion for writing and storytelling with her skills, knowledge, and drive that led to her business acclaim, Rachel shares her off beat take on the world, and her findings where life, love, divorce, and children are concerned.
Rachel is determined to be a publicist’s nightmare by writing in multiple genres including children’s fiction, flash fiction, romance, and suspense/thriller.
After multiple divorces, she is now happily married and lives in the Kansas City Metropolitan area enjoying the household noise of her soon-to-be empty nest.
When you find a series that catches your
attention, you can’t help but be excited each time a new release comes out. That
is how I feel about the Detective Natalie Ward series. I came to this one late
(book three) but you can consider me thoroughly hooked now!
This time out, Natalie and her co-workers have
a multi-faceted investigation on their hands. A young girl has died in a mysterious
fire. Her best friend seems to be hiding something, her brothers all react
strangely, and neighbors and acquaintances paint a conflicting picture of the
girl. Then her mother disappears.
As the web of connections between the
characters grows, the author keeps a deft hand in leading the reader through
the details and intricacies of the investigation. And this is one place where Ms.
Wyer shines.
She has obviously done her homework when it
comes to the ins and outs of an investigation, as her details are spot on. I
liked how Natalie is using her training to read the body language of the people
she interviews. It’s an essential tactic used by law enforcement, and so often
overlooked. The specific tells Natalie notices pair with her gut feelings and
the evidence to crack the case(s) and find the guilty person (or is it people? No
spoilers here! 😉 )
Natalie is less successful, however, when it
comes to recognizing what is happening in her own family. This is an ongoing
thread in the series, and it seems to now be coming to a head. With two
teenagers and an out-of-work husband who has been caught lying more than a few
times, Natalie has her hands full on that front as well.
As part of a law enforcement family, I especially
appreciate the way the author treats the members of Natalie’s unit and their
attitudes towards both their professional and personal lives. People who are
dedicated to their jobs very often become consumed with the cases they work on,
sometimes to the detriment of their family life.
For some, it is easier to work methodically on
a job where one can produce results. For others, it’s a way to bury their heads
in the sand and focus on other people’s problems instead of their own. It’s
fair to say that the author does an excellent all-around job of showing the
reader how complicated it truly all it is by having each of the members of the
unit a deal with a different issue on the homefront. I find these sections
often to be the most interesting.
There are a lot of moving parts to this story,
but the action flows smoothly. The “ah-ha!” moments are well-placed. The brief
glimpses into the personal lives are often triggered by an event in the
investigation, so everything is natural.
Really, there is nothing to complain about here. Even if you haven’t read the first three books in the series (and why haven’t you?!?), you will enjoy this crime thriller. Do yourself a favor and grab the others while you’re at it as well!
I am traditionally not a reader of MC
romances, but I am always looking to broaden my genre base and read new things.
I am so delighted that I took a chance with Her Rough Ride because it
was an excellent read.
Right from the prologue, the story pulled me in. The mythology stories that Sebastian told at the beginning were an interesting way to introduce the main characters and laid the groundwork for the soul-searching that both Maya and Sebastian/Slade engage in throughout the book.
The details the MC life were fascinating. I know
next to nothing about it, but everything the author describes seems very real. So,
either she has first-hand knowledge, or she did a helluva job with her
research!
I thought that both characters were complex,
which added to the depth of the story. At one point, Maya observes that people
respond to events in a variety of ways, which means that there is no right or
wrong way to react. The insight she has was eye-opening on a personal level.
I particularly liked how the author let the
tension build between Maya and Slade. I also appreciated how Slade thought that
he held all of the cards when, in reality, he was missing vital pieces of the
story – just as Maya was; this made their relationship more tenuous than either
of them knew. But when they finally got together? Holy hotness, was it steamy
and oh, so good.
I also thought that the “suspense” side of the
story was well done. I look forward to future books to see what happens between
the RDs and the Forsaken (and I hope that the RDs do something with the MC in
Texas as well).
One of the best things about this book is that
it can be read as a standalone because the author did a terrific job of filling
in the details from the first book without losing the thread of the plot in
this book. That is sometimes a challenge in later entries of a series.
I do wish that the tattoos on the cover had been accurate to the character – I think that would have been an excellent tease for those points in the story. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed Her Rough Ride, and I definitely will be looking for the next in the series.
The second book in the Red Dragon MC series does NOT disappoint. More in-depth than the average MC story, you will get caught up in the relationship between Maya and Sebastian/Slade while trying to figure out the motives of Pops and other MCs. The author does a fantastic job of balancing the suspense and the romance. You can also read this book as a standalone – but it will make you want to go back and read the first one if you do! For more thoughts on Her Rough Ride, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and the author for a complimentary, pre-release digital ARC of the book.
AUTHOR BIO Heather Van Fleet is a stay-at-home-mom turned book boyfriend connoisseur. She’s married to her high school sweetheart, a mom to three girls, and in her spare time you can find her with her head buried in her Kindle, guzzling down copious amounts of coffee.
Heather graduated from Black Hawk College in 2003 and currently writes New Adult and Adult Contemporary Romance.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
My name was Sebastian. But now they call me Slade. I’ve reinvented myself, become a man, been sworn into the Red Dragon MC. I’ve got tattooed and ripped to hell, I’ve cut my hair and my face now bears the scars of all the fights I’ve seen. The last thing I need is to face her again…
It’s been eight years since Maya ran away from the club. Sweet, beautiful Maya. My first love.
Why do I have to ride halfway across the country to pick her up? Because the club is at war, she’s the niece of our President and I’m the only brother who can be trusted to protecther.
She broke my heart, but I still want her. Do I ever. This woman is my goddess. She’s also my curse.
I need to focus on getting her home. But as soon as our eyes lock, she’s looking at me all kinds of ways. Like I’m the sexiest, most perfect stranger she’s ever seen.
And then I realise, I look completely different to the boy she once knew and she doesn’t even recognise me. I could tell her who I am. Or I could have a little fun with her first…
This sexy second novel in the Red Dragon MC series can also be read as a standalone. Fans of Kristen Ashley, Joanna Wylde and Madeline Sheehan will love the heart-stopping tension. Guaranteed HEA, no cliffhangers and no cheating.
