The Final Alibi (The Lawson Chronicles #1) by Simon King

I enjoyed reading this

I gave this book 4 out of 5 and read this in October 2022.

Harry Lightman, known as the Daylesford Devil by the press and dubbed "Lucifer" by the locals, has been sitting in a prison cell for the best part of 20 years, sentenced to life imprisonment for the torture and murder of 14 women. Each one had been preyed upon by a monster that fed on the flesh of his victims, the peaceful country towns reeling from the terror that had stalked their communities. Now, on the eve of the first victim’s 20-year anniversary, a new killer has taken up where the Devil left off, his victims dying in the same horrific circumstances as his predecessor's, the trademark signature announcing its horrific return with bloody consequences. But is it really a new killer or does Lucifer have the perfect alibi?

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The Broken Vows by Daniel Hurst

This book was very good and I gave it 4 out of 5 in March 2023. 

He broke his vows. He broke her heart. Now she is going to break him. Alison is happily married to Graham, or at least she is until she discovers that he has been cheating on her. Her husband has broken the vows that he made on their wedding day. How could he do it? It takes Alison a while to figure it out, but at least she has time on her side. Only that is where she is wrong. A devastating diagnosis means the clock is ticking faster now, and the betrayed wife must act fast if she wants revenge on her cheating partner. Alison does just that, implementing a dangerous and deadly plan, and it's one that will have far-reaching consequences for several people, including her clueless husband. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

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Night Shift Witch by Cate Lawley

This book was a little slow...

I gave this book 2 out of 5 and read this in October 2022.

A witch with a side hustle.

Star needs another paying gig while she finishes up witch training. Why not at a funeral home? It fits her goth image, and the funeral director is sort of hot...even if he does wear a suit and tie. 

The job seems perfect, until Star discovers one of their accidental death clients didn’t die accidentally. 

Before she knows it, she’s neck-deep in paranormal intrigue and her completely human, way-too-nice-for-his-own-good boss is right there with her.

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The House that Fell from the Sky by Patrick R. Delaney

This book was an interesting read...

I gave this book 4 out of 5 and read this in October 2022.

When twenty-nine-year-old Scarlett Vantassel comes to the conclusion that her life doesn't resemble any of the things she actually wanted for herself, she drops out of school and moves back home, attempting to reconnect with the people she left behind. But a shadow falls over her return one early October morning when a sinister house miraculously appears in the center of the city, sparking a media frenzy that attracts attention nationwide.

Soon after the newspapers label it, "The House that Fell from the Sky," Scarlett's childhood friend Hannah becomes obsessed with the idea that the house holds the key to discovering whether there really is life after death. Undeterred by her friends' numerous warnings, Hannah becomes increasingly consumed with the desire to enter the house, convinced it would allow her to reconnect with her recently deceased mother.

Despite a series of escalating events suggesting that the house may be more dangerous than anyone ever thought possible, a privately owned company seizes control of the property and hosts a lottery to lure the city's residents, promising the winners a large cash reward if they dare to enter the house.

To Scarlett's horror, Hannah uses her vast wealth to secure a spot among the winners to gain access to the house. Now, it's up to Scarlett, her older brother Tommy, and her friend Jackson to face their fears and journey into a place where nothing is ever quite as it seems, and decide if they can help a friend in need, or if Hannah truly is lost.

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The Abducted: The Beginning by Roger Hayden

This book was good but I felt they wanted too much that you kept buying the series...

I gave this book 3 out of 5 and read this in October 2022.

To solve a high-profile abduction, one former-police officer must confront a dark past. 

A child’s abduction leads to a frightening pattern within a South Florida town where nothing is as it seems. Amidst the vast wetlands, suburban sprawl, and tropical heat, the Lee County police department knows what to expect on any given day. But when a serial child predator stakes his claim in the area, there is no knowing when and where he will strike. The parents of the latest victim are baffled to receive no ransom demands, given their wealth and influence. And the town is in an uproar as the girl marks the fifth child to vanish.

In this mystery thriller, best-selling author Roger Hayden embarks on a terrifying journey through the darkest recesses of the human mind with “Abducted,” a bold new suspense series certain to have readers locking their doors at night.

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Fireplay by Steve P. Vincent

This book was very good and I gave it 4 out of 5 in March 2023. 

A chance lightning strike. A reporter in the right place. A scandal that will rock America.
 

Journalist Jack Emery has seen it all. Embedded for the New York Standard with the 8th Marine Regiment in the heart of Afghanistan, he has covered everything from firefights to the opening of new schools. But nothing has prepared Jack for the story that is about to explode right in front of him.
 

When a convoy Jack is riding in is attacked by a lone zealot, Jack asks a question that puts him on the path to a sensational story. But he’ll soon learn that his struggles to find the hook are nothing compared to the dangers of getting it out. 

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Capital Action by G.J. Stevens

This book was good and I gave it 3 out of 5 in March 2023. 

After two years of clandestine operations, Agent Carrie Harris doesn’t know why she’s been attached to the Metropolitan Police. Could it be, as her superiors say, to hone her skills at breaking down doors and catching bad guys? Or is it to become accustomed to working as a team when she’s been so used to operating alone?

Putting her uncertainties behind her, Carrie leans into her new role, taking pleasure as part of a special task force targeting organised criminals, until during an early morning raid, her colleagues lay dead and dying around her.

After saving those still clinging to life, she can’t do as she’s told and sit around while others hunt down those who gave the order to murder her colleagues. Determined not to let their deaths be in vain, can she rally against those up high who want her to have nothing to do with the investigation? Can she make the right choices to bring justice for her friends when everything, even the people she should trust, seem to conspire against her?ill stop at nothing to get rid of her.

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His Last Wife by Gia Pere

A mysterious woman on the run joins an aging A-list actor on a tropical film set where a sudden tragedy puts everyone in jeopardy.

Sofia is having her Cinderella moment.

She's been plucked from obscurity, flown to a luxurious location as a companion to an older but still bankable Hollywood power player.

The catch? His family is there for a free vacation, and they're as damaged as they are hard to ignore.

There's the older son, an actor himself, but with a massive chip on his shoulder.

There's the daughter, a spoiled teen who treats the world as her personal playground.

And then there's the ex-wife, a fading star who's loud and rude, but surprisingly likeable, in her own special way.

All of them want something from Sofia.

Can she be everything to everyone, or was inviting her to paradise a huge mistake?

They all think they know Sofia, but they're all wrong.

By the time the bodies start piling up, it's already too late.

If you love bad girl antiheroes who make questionable choices without apology, this is the book for you.

This book was a little slow...

I gave this book 2 out of 5 and read this in October 2022

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True Conviction by James P. Sumner

This book was good and I gave it 4 out of 5 in March 2023. 

A break-neck thriller that will have you ducking bullets and dying to turn the page! 

Meet Adrian Hell, one of the deadliest professional assassins to ever pick up a gun. 

In True Conviction, he takes a job in the sun-soaked city of Heaven's Valley, a paradise of sin and the jewel of Nevada. His contract? Kill a man who has stolen something of value from the local mafia. But when the job turns sour, he discovers a much larger threat looming in the shadows. He finds himself in the crosshairs of a powerful adversary, and he must use his skills to survive while working to stop a terrorist attack that could act as a catalyst for another world war. 

Adrian is pushed beyond his limits, tested to breaking point and forced to overcome tremendous odds in order to do what's right in this adrenaline-fuelled action adventure... even if it means going against his killer instincts. 

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Maverick Mogul by Lila Monroe

This book was good and I gave it 3 out of 5 in March 2023. 

Playboy bachelor Charlie Fox is handsome, charming — and looking for a date to the TWELVE weddings he’s attending this month. He’s topping the city’s ‘Most Eligible’ lists, but he needs a woman who won’t swoon at his feet — or go diving to catch that bouquet. A fake girlfriend is the perfect solution, he’s just not expecting a very familiar face to show up as his plus-one…

Me.

The last time I saw Charlie, he was playing Mr Popular at our high-school… while I was stuck being Miss Invisible. Now — thanks to a rogue Chihuahua, my frat-bro boss, and a gallon of gluten-free frosting — he’s making me an offer I really should refuse. Play his fake girlfriend for a summer of wild weddings?

It’ll be worth it, as long as we can keep our hands to ourselves.
And our mouths.
And… other parts, too.

As the wedding marathon gets underway, the sparks between us are anything but fake - and breaking the rules has never been so fun. Can ‘just for now’ turn into ‘forever’? Find out in the sizzling, hilarious new romance from “the reigning queen of romantic comedy” Lila Monroe!

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Wrong Place, Wrong Time by P.S. Brown

This book was good and I gave it 3 out of 5 in March 2023. 

Anyone can find themselves in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

From the best-selling author of Hide and Seek, comes a gripping crime thriller introducing the characters of DS Ripley and DC Coffey.

Three brothers are carrying out their own form of vigilante justice by executing criminals who have escaped prosecution on technicalities. They have managed to keep their actions hidden until an innocent man finds himself an onlooker to their latest killing.

As the witness struggles to decide who he can trust and where he can turn, Ripley and Coffey may be his only hope, as their investigation of a standard missing person case uncovers a far more sinister story.

As the paths of criminal, vigilante and the police collide, the conspiracy unravels to a shocking conclusion with utterly tragic consequences.

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Take a Number by Janet Dawson

This book was good and I gave it 3 out of 5 in March 2023. 

What seems like a messy divorce just might be murder when feisty female sleuth Jeri Howard returns after Till the Old Men Die. Jeri is working for a battered wife against her husband, a Petty Officer First Class who, his wife suspects, has some big bucks stashed away. But he has other more vicious secrets as well.

“Sam Raynor was the biggest slug that ever oozed across my path,” says Oakland PI Jeri Howard. “Anyone who wanted to kill him would have to take a number and get in line.”

Raynor is a liar, a cheat, an abuser who brutalized his wife Ruth. She has filed for divorce and hired Jeri Howard to find the money her husband claims he doesn’t have. When Raynor winds up with a bullet in his back, the prime suspect is Ruth. But Jeri, working hard to keep her client out of jail, discovers a long, long line of suspects.

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Don't Close Your Eyes (Stephanie Chalice Mystery #1) by Lawrence Kelter

this was very similar to a story that I had read previously... 

I gave this book 3 out of 5 and read this in November 2022.

"Don't Close Your Eyes" begins with a whimper and a bang--two seemingly unrelated deaths. The first is a teenage girl whose asthma suffocates her while sleeping. The second is a man shot on the tram that connects Roosevelt Island to Manhattan. Lying next to the man is the real puzzle: a woman who might appear to have died of natural causes if not for the handwritten note stuffed in her mouth that simply reads "Look back." 

Murder mystery thrillers are often driven by tough, fast-talking, streetwise detectives with a sad story about their past and a penchant for nabbing perps. The cop on the case in "Don't Close Your Eyes" is all these things and more. Meet Stephanie Chalice. She's a smart, beautiful, 28-year-old NYPD homicide detective whose acerbic repartee is like an arsenal of nuclear missiles--it convinces her male colleagues that she means business. 

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Neverness by David Zindell

This book was over complicated for me and I gave

it 2 out of 5 in March 2023. 

The universe of Neverness is and filled with extraordinary beings, such as the neanderthal-like Alaloi and the Order of Pilots. Against this backdrop stands Mallory Ringer, who penetrates the Solid State Entity. There he makes a discovery. One that could unlock the secret of immortality.

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The Assignment by Chip Smith

This book was very good and I gave it 4 out of 5 in March 2023. 

The Assignment A fashion reporter for the Boston Herald, Bonnie Sheridan, gets the assignment of a lifetime to go to Britain and cover the fashion icon, Wallis Simpson, lover of the future King of England. Little did she know what the implications for her life would be. As she becomes a free-lance journalist, Bessie finds love, scandal and danger as she is propelled across the world in perilous times. From Boston to London, to the Bahamas and beyond, Bonnie's life is nothing she could have ever imagined.

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Murder by the Cup by Abigail Lynn Thornton

This book was okay and I gave it 2 out of 5 in March 2023.

She's always been her family's dirty little secret,
but now she's finally free...

Wynona Le Doux would never have chosen to be born into the most powerful, ruling witch family in all of Hex Haven. And she certainly wouldn't have chosen to be cursed at birth and grow up without powers. Nor would she have ever wanted to add 'amateur sleuth' to her resume.

It seemed fate left her no choice. 

Having been hid from the public since birth because of her curse, it isn't until Wynona's grandmother helps her escape on the Spring Equinox that Wynona manages to make a few decisions for herself...that is until a dead body is found in her tea shop.

She's only six days away from her grand opening when the police mark off the area as a crime scene, putting her plans on hold.

Even with an alibi, the chief of police has Wynona at the top of his suspect list and the grumpy vampire seems determined to put her behind bars. Despite that, it isn't until customers begin cancelling their appointments that Wynona knows she has to step in and solve this crime or lose her dream forever.

Without any magical powers, she's going to need all the help she can get. A wingless fairy, a too-handsome landlord and a purple mouse are not exactly the dream team she had in mind.

Follow Wynona and her band of misfits as they navigate a city of magic, mystery and danger in this light-hearted, paranormal cozy mystery by Abigail Thornton.

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