A Killing Game by Jeff Buick

 Renee Charlebois has been kidnapped. Or so her father believes. And he is certainly rich enough to make a stink about it to get something to happen. Curtis Westcott is the unfortunate Boston Chief of Homicide who is about to receive his demands, but with no ransom or evidence to indicate she has been kidnapped, he is flummoxed.

 

Having picked up an odd clue at a party he attended, he and Aislinn, a colleague of his, have the first part of a very specific puzzle set by someone out for revenge. No part of any clue can be ignored, as each random thing mentioned points to deeds done in the past and deeds still to be carried out. There is, of course, a time limit and if Curtis doesn’t stick to the schedule precisely, Renee will be another tick on the list of victims. But so many clues just don’t make sense, and when Renee’s father puts out a massive reward, this throws everything into chaos as multiple dead ends are thrown at the police.

 

Who is doing this? Why are they doing it? And most importantly, can they be stopped?

 

I picked this book up on a giveaway, and from the first page was hooked. The action is non-stop and the puzzles very cleverly put together. So clever, in fact, that sometimes you had to wonder how anyone could work them out. And this is where the book had me divided. On the one hand, you have an intricate plot with police deductions that are genius. On the other hand, you have a really dubious reason for the killer to be doing this, and the fact that Westcott (who has not been introduced as having a photographic memory for images or words) is able to recall conversations word for word – even to the smallest pronoun.

 

So I chose to suspend disbelief and read it for the story it was meant to be read as! It went along very quickly and it was a case of “just one more chapter” as I finished one. The cast of characters were all necessary to drive the story forward, and the conflict between some of the police departments made it seem more real. There were some silly punctuation mistakes, but they did not detract from the overall experience. A great read where you can put your feet up for the afternoon and dive into a world of “will they figure it out in time?”

The Puzzle Maker (Book 13 in the Abby Kane series) by Ty Hutchinson

This is a crime thriller and the 13^th (to my sorrow) in a series.

 

The fog is thick. Crazy thick. So for the fisherman to have found his body was luck. It looks like another victim who has been tortured, had the skin removed from their back, and been dumped. Well, if it’s the work of a serial killer, then the number one expert needs to be called in.

 

Cue Agent Kane, she who has solved similar odd mysteries. Agents Kane and Kang head off to Yuba City to assist the local police department with this new victim. And their enquiries will lead them to many dead ends that always land up in the fog. It seems the killer needs the skin from the victims’ backs for something, but with the number of possibilities out there, narrowing it down seems hopeless. Until hard work and intuition leads them to a possible suspect, who may be blind, which sets in motion a chain of events that could be the undoing of one of their finest. And bring home someone they thought dead…

 

So yes, it was to my sorrow that I found out this was in a series. Sorrow because I picked the book up on a giveaway and now, like Robert J. Crane’s books, I’m going to have to work the series into my budget to find out what happens next!

 

The book’s main section finished quite a bit before the end so I wondered if there was a section to the next book, only to find out the parallel story within the book led to a cliffhanger for the next one. The writing in the book was really easy and comfortable to read in that I could just get lost in the story and not be stopped by major proofing errors or story inconsistencies. The story itself is (unfortunately) not that far-fetched and people have killed for ideas like this. So it was one of those reminders to be careful and also thank the members of law enforcement for their skills.

 

While not on my list of best-sellers, this definitely made some reading time go by quickly, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Girl in the Box Series Books 1 - 3 by Robert J. Crane

 These are the first three in a “superhuman” series that will grab you and make you say, “And then???”

 

Sienna knows she is different and lives by a set of rules her mother has enforced. Sure, they are incredibly restrictive and she kinda doesn’t have a life because of them, but hey. Her mom knows best, right? Until one day someone tries to abduct her from her house with her mom having been missing for a while. And speaking to anyone else, let alone leaving the house, is against the rules. And going against the rules gets you punished (this was a bit of a dodgy one Mr Author). So… what to do?

 

After a big fight and a shootout and help from a stranger, Sienna wakes up to find herself in a strange place. One where they say they can help her. Turns out she is a metahuman and is super strong, with other powers that are just beginning to make themselves known. So what’s a teenage girl to do when her mother and the rules are not around? Fight villains, of course! But who’s to say who are the real villains?

 

As Sienna learns about team and self, and meets more of her family than she realised she had, she needs to learn about boundaries and lines and how and where to cross them. Because even if she is super strong, she is not immortal…

 

All I can say is, damn you Robert J. Crane! My hubby had gotten the first three books in a box set, so I had no clue there were more (yes, I’m late to the party) until I got to the end only to find there are another forty-seven books in the series available! My poor budget is going to take a hit here…

 

So even though there are bits in the books you kinda raise an eyebrow at or look at your kindle with a furrowed brow, you go, “Okay, I’ll buy into it.” Cause the story and the action are just that good. Sienna is one kickass meta and her powers are wow (even when some are not). The author has made me love and hate her at the same time and I sense her frustration yet desire to be part. His villains are interesting and Wolfe creeped me out. Okay, there are some sticky bits in the books, but skip over them if you must! I don’t want to say too much, as you have to start at the beginning and see where it’s going. But it’s a helluva ride and so easy to read that you can sit down, grab a cuppa, and just go until you need to load the next one.

 

Good job!!!

Of Flame and Ember Book One Resistance by CE Ord

Resistance is a YA fantasy novel and is the first in a series.

 

Lia is sitting in detention. Okay, maybe she shouldn’t have said what she did, but life is unfair and she feels angry a lot lately. She and her twin, Tyler, lost their parents recently and had to move from New York to Australia to live with their grandmother. She’s good to them, but it’s not the same.

 

So now school is out, and she and Tyler have gone to meet some friends. Lia feels as though she is being watched. She doesn’t know how she knows… she just does. Soon she is approached by someone who calls himself Coen. And he comes with a tale that she and Tyler are going to have a hard time believing.

 

It turns out that there is another world, similar to Earth, called Gaea, that is in desperate need of a hero to rescue it from war and a coming evil in the form of Samael and Achlaya. And, as it happens, she and Tyler have familial bonds with the royalty of Gaea. So, if she and Tyler go with Coen and allow him to help her unleash her hidden magical powers, well, they have a chance at defeating their foes.

 

Alrighty then… just another day at the office…

 

Hmmm. Not sure where I stand with this book. I read it in fits and starts the first time, so read it again to make sure I got everything. I liked it, but it wasn’t a standout for me. There was a lot of explaining about things – history, the worlds, feelings, and powers, and this slowed the story somewhat. Lia only has a short time to get ready for what will ultimately be a battle, and while the tasks have their necessity explained, it just felt like she went from no powers to full powers in a few days far too easily. And for a fifteen-year-old, she seemed to make decisions that were more mature than we were led to believe about her.

 

I also found it strange that the twins leave for Gaea after they get permission from their grandmother to go on “vacation” and yet since Gaea has no technology and they can’t use their phones, they don’t contact her to let her know they have arrived at their “destination” safely. Would she not be worried? And seeing as they have an important birthday in Gaea but are not able to be contacted, would this not compound things if she phoned them to wish them happy birthday? It just stuck in my head.

 

Tyler has a very small role to play in this book, which makes me think he will come into his own in the next one. At least there is a glimmer at the end of the book to signal this.

The ending of the book and the climax was very rushed. In fact, the most important part was over in 2% of the book and just as you thought it was about to get going, it finished. And with a conclusion to the climax where I went: “Oh, really????”

 

At least the story was written comfortably without glaring grammar and punctuation errors, so that reading was smooth and easy. I’m sure others will love this as there is nothing wrong with the book… it just didn’t make me go “Wow!”.

 

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Horrificata: School’s Dead Boring by DI Russell

 

Horrificata School’s Dead Boring is the first in a series and is a comedy/horror suitable for ages 12 – 18.

 

Desmond is having one of those days. School is bleuch, and he has football on his mind. The teachers suck and it’s certainly not his fault he got detention! So you can imagine his horror when he learns that there is a secret experiment taking place at the school where a gas is used to make the pupils into flesh-eating zombies. He and the others stuck in detention either need to evade the zombies and escape from the school, or figure out what is going on and stop it all before the zombies get out.

 

What follows is a mix of scares, humour, and a bunch of questions about “who”, “why”, and “how”. And this leads nicely into the next book where the question is “what next?”

 

The book is more than just a story about zombies and experiments. It also focuses on bravery, friendship, and doing the right thing. The story moved well and was easy and comfortable to read, with no major grammar and punctuation mistakes to interrupt. The only thing that happened in my kindle version was that sentences were cut in the middle and made into new paragraphs with an indent, which was confusing as you weren’t sure if the same person was speaking.

 

All in all a fun read, so thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the book.

House of a Thousand Lies by Cody Luke Davis

 Diana Wolf has woken up from an alcoholic blackout regretting it again. And, as usual, she has spent an exorbitant amount of money on something she doesn’t need. But since she can’t remember what she bought, this could be interesting.

Cue Kerry Perkins, the cartographer she hired while in her haze to map out their estate. Kerry arrives and realises it will take some time, as the estate is very large. Diana needs to hide him somewhere for the week to do the work as her rock-star husband won’t be happy with her latest drunken purchase.

On the first day, Kerry comes across a buried skeleton, and carved into the skull is a picture of two wolves. When he calls Diana in to see this, she feigns surprise, but Kerry can see that she has recognised something. Enter the police and investigators and things start getting very weird when family secrets involving the sons, Cy and Jonah, are revealed for the deep lies they are. Not only in actions, but also in bonds.

Kerry becomes suspicious that the body was not just a random stranger and starts doing some investigating of his own. This leads him to Pink, an obsessed stalker of the Wolf family, who knows far too much about them. Together, they uncover horrifying information about the family as very often, where there is one body, others might follow.

 

I have to admit that I pushed through this book. It started off well and grabbed me, then in places I’d want to skim as the jumps between characters and time became confusing. This made the book feel longer than it actually was, and not in a good way.

I did enjoy the constant questioning of what was real and what wasn’t, whether it was an incident or a connection to someone. However, the main plot that held the book together branched out so much at the end that it went from being believable to being too far-fetched. I was with it through most of the way, nodding my head, and then went NOPE. Just NOPE. Plus, added to that, the ending came so suddenly it was like the author knew where he was going, but had spent so much getting there that he ran out of steam to bring it together smoothly. There were two parts to the ending that I felt stretched believability too much. This was disappointing, as in places I thought I had the tone of the book and felt comfortable knowing that the ending would be plausible.

I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I felt as though the author made them deliberately not likeable so that there were no “heroes”. I think the part I felt the strongest about involved a dog… I’ll leave it at that. I was glad that the story had no major grammar and punctuation errors, as this made for an easy reading experience.

 

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to review this book. 

      

Zoe's Haunt by Augustine Pierce

Zoe’s Haunt is a short horror story.

 

Zoe and her friends love doing crazy things for Halloween. This year Zoe has promised them something new. She has tested out an app that leads you around a haunted house – all in the comfort of your own home and plans on blindfolding her friends and taking them on the journey. As the app begins and the story deviates somewhat from what she remembers, she blames it on AI. However, as friends start disappearing and then turning up dead, this Halloween is going to be the one that tops them all.

 

I grabbed this one night to read during loadshedding and was disappointed that it was so short (I didn’t realise it was a short story when I started reading as it ended at 64% of the total space). The premise was interesting and the idea that the app was taking them to a different place, while not plausible (but then again what is on Halloween), was something to look forward to. However, I felt really let down at the end of the book.

 

Some of the scenes are very dialogue heavy, and it seemed as though in certain sections each character had to add a line in turn to the conversation. So, you’d find line after line of Zoe said, Ben replied, Juan added, Rina said, Darren exclaimed, etc. etc. It started to remind me a bit of The House of Twelve by Sean Davies but didn’t quite have the reasoning behind it. Unfortunately, I felt a bit flat about the story as it wasn’t long enough for me to build a connection with any of them. I wish what the app takes them to had a bit more of a backstory to it, but it was more like this happened and then this happened. And since the paragraphs were very short (many pages with just one line or going directly between speech), the action felt very choppy and didn’t lead up to enough suspense. I also think that because some of the characters irritated me, I didn’t feel anything when they disappeared.

 

I was a great attempt at a horror story with a good basic idea but it left me hanging and feeling somewhat unfulfilled. I’ll have to try another of the author’s stories to see if a longer one draws me in more…