Book Review: Shadow Music by Helaine Mario @oceanviewpub

Shadow Music
A Maggie O’Shea Mystery #3
Helaine Mario
Oceanview Publishing, September 2021
ISBN 978-1-60809-450-9
Hardcover

Third in Helaine Mario’s Maggie O’Shea series, Shadow Music, is a thrilling and complex novel of art, music, love, betrayal, and murder.  As the novel begins, in 1985, two women are attempting to escape from Communist controlled Hungary into Austria taking with them the infant daughter of one of them, and a priceless Van Gogh painting which has been rumored to exist for many years but which few have actually seen.  Nearly across the border they are seen by soldiers who fire at them, hitting one woman.  The other escapes with the baby.  The story then moves to present day where renowned pianist Maggie O’Shea is playing for guests of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  As she ends her concert, she is approached by Yuri Belankov who introduces himself as an ex-violinist from St. Petersburg, Russia and asks Maggie to solo with a friend’s orchestra which is a Russian project to give Russian musicians their chance to play professionally along with musicians from other countries.  Making no commitment, Maggie agrees to meet the orchestra’s conductor in London to discuss the matter.

In London Maggie meets the conductor, Valentin Zharkov, and agrees to think about his invitation.  Shortly after their meeting Maggie, whose husband died shortly after he interviewed a nun who supposedly had information about the lost Van Gogh, begins to experience problems – her shop is ransacked, and she is sure she is being followed which is terrifying.  She then travels to a cabin in a remote location where her new lover, a retired Colonel, runs a ranch where disabled and injured soldiers can go to live and work with horses and dogs as they recover from their war wounds – both physical and emotional.  Meanwhile, the Colonel (Michael Beckett) has taken on the task of finding the teenage grandson of his best friend who died in war and whose daughter was recently murdered, apparently because the two Russians later joined by a third, Nikolai Kirov, believed she knew the location of the lost Van Gogh but wouldn’t give it up.  Having found the grandson Michael tries to convince him to go to Michael’s ranch where he will be safe, but the teenager is not willing, though he does agree to go temporarily.

The rest of the novel focuses on the people involved in either trying to obtain or protect the Van Gogh.  The action is nearly non-stop, there are several surprises some of which are truly not obvious, and which will draw you in and not let you go.  The novel is written in short chapters which explore the point of view of several characters.  My one (minor) complaint about this novel is that the way some of the characters speak often does not sound the way people actually speak but that is a small quibble.  I liked this novel a lot and I recommend it highly.

Reviewed by Melinda Drew, October 2021.

Book Review: The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry @penguinrandom

The Alexandria Link
Cotton Malone #2
Steve Berry
Ballantine Books, January 2007
ISBN 978-0-345-48575-5
Hardcover

Steve Berry is a celebrated writer of international thrillers and a New York Times bestselling author. He writes long and complicated novels, often with enough characters to fill a small assembly hall. So readers have to pay attention. This is not a criticism, just a comment that you shouldn’t pick up this novel looking for a quick beach read.

This novel concerns good folks and a lot of very bad guys in several of the major combatants of the Twenty-first Century, namely, the U.S., Britain, Palestine, Israel, and Austria. Within each of these nations operate nefarious criminals, secretive organizations, and talented individuals.

Cotton Malone, a former agent for the U.S. has retired to Copenhagen, Denmark, and become a bookseller. Malone has a secret—he is the keeper of a vital link to the location of the greatest, most complete library known to ancient man—the Alexandria Library. That collection of books and scrolls was created nearly two thousand years BCE, making it over four thousand years old and the repository of a great deal of the histories of our major religions and our very civilization.

The Alexandria Library supposedly contains knowledge that would resolve all of the questions and controversy about the Old Testament. People will do almost anything to acquire such knowledge, believing it will give them unlimited power and wealth. Malone’s ex-wife appears in his shop to tell him his son has been kidnapped and will only be returned safely if the kidnapper receives the key to the location of the library.

Malone’s quest to rescue his son, trap the bad guys and solve numerous other fraught problems is thus the substance of this well-written, convoluted, and complicated novel. Malone and the other characters encounter an amazing host of well-thought-out and dangerous situations that will keep readers attention.

There is a good deal of political intrigue and intrigue which may raise some hackles but I found it even-handed and well sorted. Criticism of all the political entities seems to me even-handed and largely accurate. A well-done, thoughtful, and intriguing work.

Reviewed by Carl Brookins, November 2020.
http://www.carlbrookins.com http://agora2.blogspot.com
Traces, Grand Lac, Reunion, Red Sky.

Book Reviews: Night School by Lee Child and The Second Life of Nick Mason by Steve Hamilton

Night School
A Jack Reacher Novel #21
Lee Child
Delacorte Press, November 2016
ISBN 978-0-041-7880-8
Hardcover

From the publisher:  It’s 1996, and Reacher is still in the army.  In the morning they give him a medal, and in the afternoon they send him back to school.  That night he’s off the grid. Out of sight, out of mind. Two other men are in the classroom – – an FBI agent and a CIA analyst.  Each is a first-rate operator, each is fresh off a big win, and each is wondering what the hell they are doing there.  Then they find out:  A Jihadist sleeper cell in Hamburg, Germany, has received an unexpected visitor – – a Saudi courier, seeking safe haven while waiting to rendezvous with persons unknown. A CIA asset, undercover inside the cell, has overheard the courier whisper a chilling message: “The American wants a hundred million dollars.”  For what?  And who from?  Reacher and his two new friends are told to find the American.  Reacher recruits the best soldier he has ever worked with:  Sergeant Frances Neagley.  Their mission heats up in more ways than one, while always keeping their eyes on the prize:  If they don’t get their man, the world will suffer an epic act of terrorism.  From Langley to Hamburg, Jalalabad to Kiev, Night School moves like a bullet through a treacherous landscape of double crosses, faked identities, and new and terrible enemies, as Reacher maneuvers inside the game and outside the law.

Reacher is an imposing figure.  He is a military cop, 35 years old, a major with twelve years in, with rare attributes:  He is brilliant, with admirable reserves of intelligence and strengths (both mental and physical, at 6’ 5” and 250 pounds).   He thinks of himself as “a good street fighter.  Mostly because he enjoyed it.”  He thinks of his new “assignment” as a cooperation school, these disparate government agencies not known for getting along well together.  When the men fly to Hamburg, Reacher thinks:  “He had dealt with German cops before.  Both military and civilian.  Not always easy.  Mostly due to different perceptions. Germans thought they had been given a country, and Americans thought they had bought a large military base with servants.”  The identity of their primary target, known only as The American, is not known till 160 pages in, and the item[s] being sold not known until page 300.  We are reminded of the callous mindset when one character says “soccer wasn’t so bad. He had once seen it played with a human head.”

The book is intricately and meticulously plotted.  It was different from prior books in the series in that it is not as taut and edge-of-your-seat as previous entries, but the reader is carried along from beginning to end, just somewhat more sedately.  It is trademark Lee Child/Jack Reacher, however, and is recommended.

Reviewed by Gloria Feit, December 2016.

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The Second Life of Nick Mason
Steve Hamilton
Putnam, May 2016
ISBN 978-0-3995-7432-0
Hardcover

From the publisher:  A career criminal from Chicago’s South Side, Nick Mason got his start stealing cars and quickly graduated to safe-cracking and armed robbery.  But he left that life behind when he met and married his wife and settled down with her and their young daughter – until an old friend offered him a job he couldn’t refuse.  That fateful night at the harbor landed him in prison with a 25-to-life sentence and little hope of seeing his wife or daughter ever again.  When Nick is offered a deal allowing his release twenty years ahead of schedule, he takes it without hesitation or fully realizing the consequences.  Once outside, Nick steps into a glamorous life with a five-million-dollar condo, a new car, ten grand in cash every month, and a beautiful roommate. But while he’s returned to society, he’s still a prisoner, bound to the promise he made behind bars:  whenever his cell phone rings, day or night, Nick must answer it and follow whatever order he is given.  It’s the deal he made with Darius Cole, a criminal mastermind serving a double-life term who still runs an empire from his prison cell.  Whatever Darius Cole needs him to be – – a problem solver, bodyguard, thief, or assassin – – Nick Mason must be that man.  Forced to commit increasingly dangerous crimes and relentlessly hunted by the detective who brought him to justice in the past, Nick finds himself in a secret war between Cole and an elite force of Chicago’s dirty cops.  Desperate to go straight and rebuild his life with his daughter and ex-wife, Nick will ultimately have to risk everything – – his family, his sanity, and even his life – – to finally break free.

How does Nick resolve this second life he is now forced to live?  The manner in which he does so is revealed in this fascinating novel by Steve Hamilton, and the suspenseful way he accomplishes it is typical of what we have come to expect from this author, in this newest page-turner, just the first in a new series.  It goes against anything Nick had believed in:  Although admittedly involved with several kinds of illegal acts, he had never – and believed he never could – taken another man’s life.  But after five years and twenty-eight days in prison, and with the hope of re-starting his life with his beloved Gina and their little girl, he would do almost anything.  The book opens with quotes from two very different sources: Nathaniel Hawthorne and Bruce Springsteen.  But expect the unexpected from this wonderful author.  I was delighted to learn that the next book in the series, Exit Strategy, will be published by Putnam in May, and I can’t wait to read it!   The Second Life of Nick Mason is, you will have guessed, highly recommended.

Reviewed by Gloria Feit, February 2017.

Book Review: War Hawk by James Rollins and Grant Blackwood—and a Giveaway!

War Hawk
A Tucker Wayne Novel #2
James Rollins and Grant Blackwood
William Morrow, December 2016
ISBN 978-0-06-213529-2
Mass Market Paperback

From the publisher—

Tucker Wayne’s past and present collide when a former army colleague comes to him for help. She’s on the run from brutal assassins hunting her and her son. To keep them safe, Tucker must discover who killed a brilliant young idealist-a crime that leads back to the most powerful figures in the U.S. government.

From the haunted swamplands of the deep South to the beachheads of a savage civil war in Trinidad, Tucker and his beloved war dog, Kane, must work together to discover the truth behind a mystery that dates back to World War II, involving the genius of a young code-breaker, Alan Turing…

They will be forced to break the law, expose national secrets, and risk everything to stop a madman determined to control the future of modern warfare for his own diabolical ends. But can Tucker and Kane withstand a force so indomitable that it threatens our future?

I’ve loved practically everything I’ve read by James Rollins because he makes it all such an adventure but I have to admit that I don’t read all his books. Why? Because they’re massive and my zeal for really long books has diminished over the years. The other thing that makes me hesitate is that he sometimes collaborates with other writers, much like James Patterson does, and that can be dicey. On the other hand, I read a lot of reviews of the first book in this series and saw very little to alarm me so I decided to take the plunge with War Hawk, all 544 pages of it (which is a mere 372 pages in the epub edition, another reason I love ebooks).

Besides…there’s a cool dog 😉

It’s hard to think of a braver, more self-disciplined pair than a former Army Ranger and a war dog but Tucker’s goal at the beginning of this novel is to simply enjoy life on the road with Kane at his side. He still has money in the bank from a job he recently did so employment is not an issue but their trip to Yellowstone is aborted when a woman from their past shows up looking for help. A colleague is missing and others have died, leading her to flee with her young son. Jane Sabatello was important to Tucker in their Army days so he doesn’t hesitate but they certainly don’t anticipate the coming confrontation with a man determined to essentially control the world with secrets from World War II and the brilliant mind of cryptanalyst Alan Turing.

And thus begins a wild, tension-filled adventure that takes us into the world of drones and the wondrous albeit frightening things they can do. I imagine some of this is in Mr. Rollins’ and Mr. Grantwood’s imaginations but much has already come to pass in real life, giving this thriller a validity that’s more than a little unnerving. A bit of imagination (I think) comes into play with Kane’s abilities but I didn’t care about that because Kane is such an appealing dog and a great companion for Tucker. The two of them make a fine team and I think I might have to go back and read the first book.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, February 2017.

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Purchase Links:

               

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About the Authors

JAMES ROLLINS is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers, translated into more than forty languages. His Sigma series has been lauded as one of the “top crowd pleasers” (New York Times) and one of the “hottest summer reads” (People magazine). In each novel, acclaimed for its originality, Rollins unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets–and he does it all at breakneck speed and with stunning insight.

Catch Up with James Rollins on his Website , Twitter , & Facebook 

In addition to his New York Times bestselling collaborations with Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy, GRANT BLACKWOOD is the author of three novels featuring Briggs Tanner: The End of Enemies, The Wall of Night, and An Echo of War. A U. S. Navy veteran, Grant spent three years as an Operations Specialist and a Pilot Rescue Swimmer. He lives in Colorado.

Catch Up with Grant Blackwood on his Website , Twitter , & Facebook

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Follow the tour:

2/13 showcase @ The Way I See It
2/13 Review @ Buried Under Books
2/14 Showcase @ Mommabears Book Blog
2/14 Review @ Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine
2/15 Review @ Mrs Mommy Booknerds Book Reviews
2/15 Review @ Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
2/16 Showcase @ b00k r3vi3ws
2/16 Showcase @ Celticladys Reviews
2/17 Showcase @ Books Direct
2/17 Review @ fundinmental
2/18 Showcase @ Mythical Books
2/20 Review @ just reviews
2/21 showcase @ A Dream Within A Dream
2/23 Review @ Lazy Day Books
2/24 fuonlyknew
2/25 Review @ I am not a bookworm!
2/26 Review @ JBronder Book Reviews
2/27 Review @ Luxury Reading

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To enter the drawing for a print
copy of War Hawk, leave a comment
below. The winning name will be drawn
Thursday evening, February 16th.
Open to residents of the US.

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Book Review: All Fall Down by Ally Carter

All Fall Down
Embassy Row #1
Ally Carter
Scholastic Press, February 2015
ISBN 978-0-545-65474-6
Hardcover

Ally Carter, the New York Times bestselling author of the Gallagher Girls and Heist Society series, turns her hand to this young adult thriller, set in a foreign embassy. Combining the exotic setting with a mystery, the central character is Grace Blakely, a sixteen year old who saw her mother murdered several years ago. She is consumed by the idea that she will find the killer and make him pay for his crime. Considered “troubled” by her school and her family, Grace doesn’t want to be in Adria, a country on the Mediterranean Sea, but her father is a career Army Ranger and her brother is at West Point. She has nowhere else to go but to live with her grandfather, who is the ambassador to Adria.

On her second day at the embassy, she crashes into the Russian ambassador and gives him a bloody nose and black eye. Grace spends most of her time sneaking out of the embassy and exploring the neighborhood. She discovers secret underground passages between some of the embassies, and meets some of the teens who live in the other embassies. They party on the beach outside of the deserted Iranian embassy. There’s Noah, who lives at the Israeli embassy, his twin sister Lila, Rosie from Germany, and Megan, another American. Alexi, a Russian teenager who lives at the embassy next door, is keeping watch on Grace. He says her brother asked him to keep an eye on her, but Grace doesn’t like to be spied on.

When Grace attends a diplomatic ball at the palace, she sees the Scarred Man, the person she believes killed her mother. Her attempts to discover his identity put her in danger. Although Grace is no Jason Bourne, there’s a lot of action and intrigue, with teens as the stars in this thriller. The plot twists and turns and a surprise ending ties it all up nicely. This series should appeal to both teen and adult readers.

Reviewed by Susan Belsky, January 2016.

Book Review: A Spark Unseen by Sharon Cameron—and a Giveaway!

A Spark Unseen
Sharon Cameron
Scholastic Press, September 2013
ISBN 978-0-545-32813-5
Hardcover

A Spark Unseen, the sequel to The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron, takes us to Napoleon III’s Paris in 1854. In the opening, Katherine realizes she must leave Stranwyne Keep, her Uncle Tilly’s estate in Devonshire, England to protect him and his amazing inventions.

Fortunately her grandmother had a house with hidden rooms in Paris and Katherine wants to hide Uncle Tully there from the British and French governments and anyone else who may come looking. She is also determined to search for Lane who went to Paris at the conclusion of The Dark Unwinding and has since been reported dead.

It is an exciting read and in plot and character, it is just as charming as the first novel. All of the surviving characters from the first novel return and we get to know the main ones and their background stories even better. It’s an easy book to keep reading and forget about everything else.

The setting is where I found A Spark Unseen to fall short. I loved Stranwyne Keep and Uncle Tully. There is much less of him in this book. As Katherine misses Stranwyne Keep, I was constantly reminded how much I missed it too. Perhaps there’s reason to hope we will have more of the delightful Stranwyne Keep in future sequels.

Reviewed by Constance Reader, October 2014.

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To enter the drawing for a pre-publication copy of
A Spark Unseen by Sharon Cameron, leave a
comment below. The winning name will be drawn
Thursday evening, February 5th. This drawing
is open to residents of the US and Canada.

Book Reviews: Cop Town by Karin Slaughter, The Thieves of Legend by Richard Doetsch, and Cabin Fever by James M. Jackson

Cop Town
Karin Slaughter
Delacorte Press, June 2014
ISBN No. 978-0-345-54749-1
Hardcover

Kate Murphy is a young widow from a well-to-do family. Her husband was killed in the service and Kate has made the decision to join the Atlanta Police Force. Her first day on the job leaves her wondering if she has made an error in judgment and needs to rethink her decision.

Nothing is easy on the first day. The legs on her uniform are too long; her cap is too big and falls down in her face and her shoes fall off with every step. It seems the Atlanta PD could care less if the uniform fits the female officers. The male officers enjoy painting a penis on the women’s bathrooms and the colored women police officers have a separate dressing room divided by a curtain.

The Atlanta PD is full of racism and very few new officers, particularly women, meet the criteria necessary to gain respect. Kate is partnered with Maggie Lawson. Maggie has a brother and an uncle on the force, neither of which treat Maggie with much respect. Maggie tries to give Kate a few tips as far as work is concerned but neither woman feel their partnership will be a success.

Immediately the pair are thrown into the investigation of the death of another police officer. Maggie’s brother, Jimmy Lawson, was partnered with the officer killed and managed to carry him all the way to the hospital even though he was also hurt.

It is suspected that a criminal called “The Shooter” is the one killing the officers. Each time a cop is killed the situation seems to have been set up in the same way. Maggie and Kate hook up with a black police officer, Gail Patterson, who agrees to help them locate a pimp that Maggie feels has some information they can use. The three get the information but more trouble than they signed up for.

Cop Town is an exciting book that is difficult to put down. I’ve read all of Karin Slaughter‘s novels and she has long been one of my favorite authors. This novel is a standalone but I am hoping that I might be reading more about Maggie and Kate in the future.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, July 2014.

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The Thieves of Legend
Richard Doetsch
Atria Books, November 2012
ISBN978-1-4165-9898-5
Hardcover

Master thief Michael St. Pierre is blackmailed into stealing an ancient artifact hidden several stories beneath the royal palace in the heart of the Forbidden City. His ex-girlfriend, KC Ryan, also a master thief, is under the same duress to steal a second part of the artifact located in a different area of China.

Michael has five days before the U.S. Army Colonel behind the blackmail says he’ll kill KC.  KC has the same kind of deal with the female assassin set to guard her. Michael’s and KC’s lives depend on each being successful. Meanwhile they’ll need to contend not only with Chinese Triads, but with more than one madman. Fortunately, Michael has a couple good friends willing to do almost anything the help protect him and KC, and prevent the artifact from falling into the wrong hands.

Lots of violence here, and just when you think one of the bad guys has been eliminated, he pops up again like an unkillable weed.

The well-developed characters are brilliant, as Michael and his friends, Simon and Busch, as well as KC prove as they work through a convoluted puzzle. They’re also goodlooking, and tremendously athletic.

The action is non-stop, the plotting clever with a delicious mystery at the center. The setting moves from country to country, from land to sea, and the tension never ceases to ramp up.

Mr. Doetsch, who states he loves research, has included a historical character, a certain Zheng He, in the story, which adds a nice touch and whets one’s appetite to learn more about him.

Reviewed by Carol Crigger, May 2014.
Author of Three Seconds to Thunder.

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Cabin Fever 
A Seamus McCree Mystery
James M. Jackson
Barking Rain Press, April 2014
ISBN:978-1-935460-90-9
Trade Paperback

Several terrific and unusual characters. An unusual and intriguing plot line. A not-so-popular worthwhile setting. Smart dialogue. Those are all the good elements of this novel which features one of the most cranky and short-tempered protagonists this reviewer has ever encountered. Seamus McCree is a brilliant financial forensic analyst. He works for a non-profit that offers security and financial crimes examinations to banks and similar institutions.

He’s spending time recuperating from his last violent encounter in the cold winter woods of the Michigan Upper Peninsula. It gets really cold up there. It’s about -40 when he discovers a naked woman half-frozen on the unheated porch of his cabin. Nursing her away from death begins to reveal an intriguing plot.

Now we get to the questionable and not-so-good parts. Everybody in the book speaks sometimes from their personal point of view. That includes the author-narrator. That can be confusing at times. And it sometimes takes the narrative off on wandering paths through tangled underbrush and that slows the pace when we need a little more push, not less.

Then there is the formatting. Traditional rules of formatting say you either indent paragraphs or you insert a blank line between them, but not both. Moreover, in fiction, readers expect indents, not spaces. I suggest, if readers let that and some other formatting anomalies bother them, they’ll miss an enjoyable reading experience. Generally well-written, there are some logical lapses that made me grind my teeth. In the aggregate however, in spite of a lot of murders, I found that my time reading Cabin Fever was worthwhile.

Reviewed by Carl Brookins, August 2014.
Author of Red Sky, Devils Island, Hard Cheese, Reunion.