Review: Catch Me by Lisa Gardner

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Format: Review Copy

Source: Publisher (Dutton)

Purchase: Indie Bound

Dear Lisa Gardner,

Never stop writing.

Sincerely,

Red Headed Book Child

Folks, I'm going to put it bluntly-Lisa Gardner rocks my mystery/thriller loving socks. As a bookseller of many years, she has been an author that has sold like hot cakes and I, smile and nod, but never picked one up. Then last year rolls around and my very own mystery challenge kicked me into high gear and I read Live to Tell. That was considered book 4 in her Detective D.D Warren series and Catch Me, is considered book 6.

I could not put Live to Tell down. I was hooked! So I did a little begging and maybe a little pleading to get my hands on Catch Me and poof! it arrived at my door step. Hot sauce!

For those of you new to Lisa Gardner, here's the low down on this series.

Alone, Hide, The Neighbor, Live to Tell, Love you More and Catch Me

D.D Warren is a tough Boston detective and damn good at her job. Up until this book, she has led a pretty solitary life with very little baggage. Now, however, she is in a relationship and new mom to baby Jack. She is finding it a bit difficult to live and breathe her job, as she once did, when all she can see is the 5:00 quitting-home to baby Jack-time.

Unfortunately crime does not stop for this new mom.

Description from Goodreads:

"In four days, someone is going to kill me . . . "

Detective D. D. Warren is hard to surprise. But a lone woman outside D.D.'s latest crime scene shocks her with a remarkable proposition: Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant believes she will be murdered in four days. And she wants Boston's top detective to handle the death investigation.

"It will be up close and personal. No evidence of forced entry, no sign of struggle."
Charlie tells a chilling story: Each year at 8:00 p.m. on January 21st, a woman has died. The victims have been childhood best friends from a small town in New Hampshire; the motive remains unknown. Now only one friend, Charlie, remains to count down her final hours.

But as D.D. quickly learns, Charlie Grant doesn't plan on going down without a fight. By her own admission, the girl can outshoot, outfight, and outrun anyone in Boston. Which begs the question, is Charlie the next victim, or the perfect perpetrator? As D.D. tracks a vigilante gunman who is killing pedophiles in Boston, she must also delve into the murders of Charlie's friends, racing to find answers before the next gruesome January 21 anniversary. Is Charlie truly in danger, or is she hiding a secret that may turn out to be the biggest threat of all?

"In four days, someone is going to kill me. But the son of a bitch has gotta catch me first. "

Oh. My. Goodness.

Right? Are you terrified?

I've read a lot of mysteries in my time and one of the things I seem to consistently enjoy is the element of surprise. I like twists. I don't want to know until the end. I want the ending to smack me in the face. Lisa Gardner's books do just that! Not only that, she has a talent for creating characters that are psychologically messed up but still likable. That's hard to do. There are certainly bad guys and you don't like them but then there are characters like Charlie. She has done bad things but you still root for her because you get it. Gardner has a precise way she builds up a character and generates that empathy in the reader. It's very human. It's very real. You can picture yourself in the moment and feeling the same emotions.

Charlie's character was abused as a child and she is now closed off as an adult. She was another hard as nails woman that Gardner created.

She kicked ass and I'm still rooting for her.

Rating: Recommend

I am definitely going to continue to read Lisa Gardner's books. She is a masterful creator of mysterious puzzles, laying down each piece at the right time and then having it all click together at the end. Impressive. There's a steady beat to her writing within the dialogue between the characters and the bread crumb approach to the back story, little bits here and there. Within the mystery genre, there are so many similar story lines that as a reader, the make or break moment is the writing and how the story is delivered. If the author can create a unique lead character or keep you guessing until the end with well plotted writing, than they stand apart. Lisa Gardner definitely stands apart.

Author Website:

Lisa Gardner

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

212 by Alafair Burke (review #129)

Title: 212

Author: Alafair Burke

Publisher:

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Format: Review Copy for TLC Book Tour

Alafair Burke is an author that I discovered while shelving at my library job. She was one of the authors that motivated me to create my first challenge, The A-Z Mystery Author Challenge. I realized there are so many mystery authors out there that I have never read and I really wanted to expand my list of authors to read. She has two series and I picked the one that takes place in New York City. I read the first book in this series called Dead Connection featuring Detective Ellie Hatcher. I really enjoyed it!

When I had the opportunity to read this one for the book tour, I jumped at it. Even though this is book 3 in the series, I still wanted to read it.

Here is a brief description from the publisher's website:

In New York City, Nights Are Dangerous. Days Are Numbered.

When New York University sophomore Megan Gunther finds personal threats posted to a Web site specializing in campus gossip, she's taken aback by their menacing tone. Someone knows her daily routine down to the minute and is watching her—but thanks to the anonymity provided by the Internet, the police tell her there's nothing they can do. Her friends are sure it's someone's idea of a joke, but when Megan is murdered in a vicious attack, NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher is convinced that the online threats are more than just empty words.

With smooth, straight-talking partner J. J. Rogan at her side, Ellie tries to identify Megan's enemies, but she begins to wonder if the coed's murder was more than just the culmination of a cyber obsession. Phone records reveal a link between Megan and a murdered real estate agent who was living a dangerous double life. The detectives also learn that the dead real estate agent shared a secret connection to a celebrity mogul whose bodyguard was mysteriously killed a few months earlier. And when Megan's roommate suddenly disappears, they know they have to find her before another young woman dies.

Even though I didn't read the second book in the series, I don't feel I missed too much. Ellie's character has definitely grown a bit. She has more confidence and definitely throws herself in her cases. She has a new partner, whom I really like, and their relationship is a good balance of skill and sharp personalities.

I got a chance to meet Alafair Burke at BEA. She was signing copies of her new stand alone thriller, Long Gone. I told her how I discovered her at my library and that she motivated me to start my challenge. She was really nice and said she looked forward to what

I thought of her new book.

I gave her my card and she even said she recognized the name of my blog! Cool!

What I really like about the two books that I have read so far is that they are detective stories. Burke obviously knows her stuff when it comes to the ins and outs of police work, lawyers, courts, prisons, crime scenes. It reads like a well made cop show. I like that.

Even though it is about a horrible crime; a murder, it still dishes it out rather simply. You follow the two detectives as they break down the case and down some troubled paths to find the truth.

There are some mystery books that rely on too much drama and suspense to make it an exciting read. That's okay for me too, when I'm in the mood. But sometimes I'm also really into trying to piece the intricate pieces of a crime together. Who are the lead suspects? What steps are we going to take to find out who did it? What is the motive?

Review: 5/6

Once again, I really enjoyed 212. I'm curious about her other books too and will definitely find some time to read them. I'm glad I started with this series. She knows NYC and I like reading books that take place there. Ellie has grown on me more as a character. She is tougher, but yet still real. Overall, Burke has written another well played detective story with real characters.

I recommend for fans of any genre within mystery. You will get a little legal thriller, a little psychological drama, a solid mystery and some good detective work.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for having me on this tour.

Other Stops on the Tour:

Wednesday, June 8th: The House of the Seven Tails

Thursday, June 9th: A Bookish Way of Life

Monday, June 13th: Chaotic Compendiums

Wednesday, June 15th: Life In Review

Thursday, June 16th: My Reading Room

Monday, June 20th: Chick With Books

Tuesday, June 21st: A Bookworm’s World

Wednesday, June 22nd: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Thursday, June 23rd: Rundpinne

Author Info:

Learn more about Alafair at her website, connect with her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Dead of Wynter by Spencer Seidel (Guest Review)

I am pleased to welcome Cheryl one more time as Guest Reviewer. She was nice enough to read and review this new mystery author since I didn't think I would be able to squeeze it in before BEA. Thank you Cheryl!

Dead of Wynter by Spencer Seidel

From the back cover:

“Dolly, It’s Your Mother.”

Dolly. Jackie Ruth Wynter had called Alice that for years. Alice hated it. Almost as much as she hated her old life as Alice Wynter when she lived with her torn up family in the small town of Redding, Maine. Her twin brother Chris had been fading fast, transforming into a mirror image of their drunken, violent father. Now Jackie Ruth was telling her that Papa was dead and Chris was missing.

Alice resigns herself to return, helping her mother and the local police with the mystery surrounding the crime. But there are some family secrets her mother would sooner take to the grave than reveal. As the authorities come closer to solving the mystery of the men in her family, she begins to realize her past life as Alice Wynter is the missing part of the puzzle. But who is searching out the former Alice?

Wynter family secrets run deep, and they all have something to hide in the bone-chilling cold of Maine lake country. The mystery of her father’s murder and brother’s disappearance will capture your attention well past when the fire has gone out.

Cheryl's Review:

I always enjoy a mystery rife with family secrets. Seidel slowly and expertly reveals Alice’s remembering and discovery of those secrets. Though her twin brother Chris is missing and the prime suspect in her father’s death, Alice never quite believes him capable of murder. Seidel flips back and forth between the past and the present so the pieces eventually culminate into a dramatic conclusion.

Seidel delves into the emotional lives of Alice and her family. You understand their pain and difficulties. Members of the family, including Alice, all had deeply buried parts of their pasts that they never expected to uncover. This family drama is an important aspect of how the mystery unfolds.

The mystery kept me in suspense. As more and more of the family’s past was revealed, the mystery became more complex. Without giving anything away, the ending was both resolved and unresolved. This was the type of mystery that would have been less believable if everything had worked out perfectly. Instead, a purposeful and tenuous resolution enhanced the story. Overall, it was a fairly quick, though not light, read. I was caught up in the suspense and read it in only a few days. Seidel has one other novel that I will definitely read at some point.

Author Website:

Spencer Seidel

Happy reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Gideon's Sword By Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Guest review)

Gideon's Sword by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Publisher:

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Tonight's Guest Review will be written by my dear old husband. He has been kind enough to write a few others for me in the past and it's fun to have him hop over and share my blog spotlight. The publicist was kind enough to send me another copy of this book after we...ahem...lost the first copy. We have NO idea where it went too. Classy, huh?

Real book lovers. You bet.

I guess we have some ditzy moments now and then :)

Description from Goodreads:

Gideon Crew has a lot on his mind. His mother has died, but only after revealing on her deathbed the true story of his father's murder. Reeling and thirsting for revenge, this talented operative must confront an even more pressing matter: He was been enlisted to steal plans for a Chinese megaweapon from a defecting scientist. Trademark Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child action and suspense in a new series starter.

The Husband's Review:

"Gideon's Sword" was a fun, fast paced read. Many of my favorite novels feature a protagonist who knows of a vast conspiracy, usually resulting from the death of a family member. To a point, I felt this book to be formulaic and somewhat predictable. Having never read any other Preston and Child novels, I can't say if this is par for the course, but it read like a YA novel to me. That being said, I did enjoy the characters as none of them are perfect; each having their own rather significant flaws. Also, the plot moved nicely; throwing in some humor to offset all the killing.

All in all, fun but far fetched, dark but goofy, fast but formulaic. Much like early Stephen King, I would give it a C+. Unless it was written for the Young Adult audience, then I would give it a A-

Thank you, my dear, for sharing with us your thoughts on this book. I hope you, dear readers, enjoyed a different voice tonight.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Hey, You Wrote a Book!

It's always lovely to meet authors that you enjoy reading but it's also quite lovely to have worked with a person who is now an author. Jessie Chandler is a former bookseller colleague of mine. We traveled in the same book selling circles for many years and I even attended a training session that she taught back in the day.

Well, turns out she has been very busy and now is a mystery author!

I went to my Sunday morning bookstore gig last week and my manager asked if I remembered her. I said, "Sure do!" and was quickly led to her book on our local author table.

How cool is that?

Well, when I got home I emailed Jessie and congratulated her and caught up. When I told her I had a book review site, she offered to send me a copy to read and review at my leisure.

Well, I can't pass that up, especially if it's a mystery!

So here it is folks, Bingo Barge Murder -Book 1 in the Shay O'Hanlon mystery. series

(description from author's website)

Shay O'Hanlon is a Minneapolis coffee shop co-owner whose life revolves around her work. Her best friend, Nicholas "Coop" Cooper is a vegetarian tree hugger who wouldn't hurt a fly. He works on a moored bingo barge on the Mississippi River. Coop has words with his boss, Stanley "Kinky" Anderson, and the talk ends with Kinky telling Coop, "You're fired!"

The next day Kinky is found dead in the bingo barge office, his head smashed in by a bronzed bingo dauber. Coop runs to Shay for help. They enlist the aid of Shay's mother-figure, Edwina "Eddy" Quartermaine, who's a 60-something, hip, lovable woman (also the owner of the Victorian house in Uptown where Shay's coffee shop is located).

After breaking into the barge to look for clues to who really bashed Kinky's head in, Eddy is kidnapped, and craziness ensues. Shay and Coop must locate a missing truckload of nuts and return it to two bumbling mobsters or they'll feed Eddy to the fish. During the search for these missing nuts, Shay and Coop do some additional breaking and entering, discover another dead body, acquire a Boxer dog named Dawg, and try to dodge JT, the Minneapolis detective working Kinky's murder case.

Will they succeed in their quest to clear Coop and nail the murderer? Or will their madcap inexperience doom Eddy forever?

Sounds like a lot of fun!

My review is to come since I just got it in the mail yesterday.

I am excited to stop by her book release party at Once Upon a Crime Mystery bookstore in Minneapolis on May 19.

It's so much fun to support local authors and it's even more fun to support the ones you know!

I hope you check her out.

Author Website:

Jessie Chandler

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Dead Connection by Alafair Burke (review #117)

Dead Connection by Alafair Burke

* Read for my A-Z Mystery Author Challenge

This is a mystery I discovered while shelving at my library job. She was one of the authors that motivated me to start my own challenge (A-Z Mystery Author Challenge). She has written atleast five books, in two series, and I thought, There are so many authors like this that I have not read. What is stopping me? The large number of them? Sure, I suppose but that just makes me more curious. Why do we only know James Patterson? Janet Evanovich? Sue Grafton?

No, there is nothing wrong with these guys. They write just fine but what about these little guys, plugging away writing intricate mystery series of their own?

I want to know about THEM.

Alafair Burke was a good pick. She is the daughter of James Lee Burke, a well known mystery author of the Dave Robicheaux books. She is a professor of criminal law and works directly with police departments. Her experience working in these areas definitely comes out in her book.

I was intrigued with this series for another reason and that is because it is set in NYC. I am such a fan of cop shows set in New York. Law and Order, I'm all over! I realized that I don't read a lot of mysteries that are actually set in the Big Apple. The city becomes its own character.

Ellie Hatcher is the leading lady, a rookie detective with a shaky past. Her father, also a cop, lost his life in search of a serial killer. Wrongly labeled a suicide, Ellie tries to carry on knowing her father's killer will never be brought to justice.

Her known past is what leads her to begin work on a case involving FirstDate, an online dating service. She is brought in to work with seasoned detective, Flann on hunting for a possible serial killer targeting single women in the city.

This book really nailed it. Burke has a way with tweaking the story and letting it all play out so well. It wasn't too raw or too emotional or too suspenseful or too tough. It was real. The steps within an investigation, the breaking down of each suspect, the use of different technologies. It all seemed very matter of fact and true to the world of detectives. (like I know? really...HA!) I liked that Ellie was down to earth and pretty normal, considering. She was good looking but she didn't know it. She was smart and she let it show but it wasn't condescending. She was really dedicated and took her job seriously. She wasn't afraid to question and she wasn't afraid to lean in and get dirty.

This was going to be on my list a little later this year but then I got the opportunity to review the latest in this series, 212, for a blog tour in June. I snapped this up to get a feel for the character of Ellie and I am so glad I did. I look forward to continue reading this series.

Angel's Tip and 212 are the next two books in the line up.

Her website is really fun to read too. Burke seems to have a wicked sense of humor and her posts have been a blast to read through. Check it out.

Alafair Burke

Rating: 5/6

If you want a good mystery with lots of solid detective work, smart characters, bad ass bad guys, and a gritty back drop of NYC, this is your book. Ellie is a new gal I am excited to read more of and watch her grow as a detective.

Happy reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

The Year of Mysterious Giveaways (March)

It's a new month and that means that it is time for another mysterious giveaway. If you haven't heard, I am calling this year The Year of the Mystery. I created my first mystery challenge. I'm reading more mysteries. My guest reviewers are reading more mysteries. I thought it would be only fitting to give away some wonderful mysteries. So here we are, The Year of the Mysterious Giveaways (insert spooky music here).

This time around the publisher has offered to give away a copy of Thieves of Darkness by Richard Doetsch. I LOVED The 13th Hour by him. Read it and reviewed it last year! This one sounds just as thrilling!

Here's the description from Amazon:

Michael St. Pierre, a reformed master thief, thinks he has left his criminal days far behind him, when he receives word that his best friend, Simon has been locked up and sentenced to die in a brutal desert prison. Breaking into jail for the first time in his checkered career, Michael is stunned to discover that his new girlfriend, KC, is connected to Simon’s case.

With a madman on their heels, the three adventurers make their way to Istanbul in search of the mysterious artifact that landed Simon behind bars in the first place: a map containing the location of a holy place lost to the mists of time, a repository of knowledge and treasure predating Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Testing their courage and wits, Michael and his team are forced to plot a series of daring thefts that take them inside some of the city’s most celebrated (and heavily guarded) sanctums, from the imperial harem of Topkapi Palace to the tombs of the Hagia Sophia itself. More than priceless artifacts are at stake—the lives of loved ones and perhaps the fate of humanity itself hang in the balance.

A globe-trotting adventure that wings from the glittering banks of the Bosporus to the highest peaks of the Himalayas, The Thieves of Darknessconfirms Richard Doetsch’s place as the modern-day master of pulse-pounding suspense.

Author Website:

Richard Doestch

Contest Rules:

* Please be or become a follower of my blog. I appreciate the company!

* Please leave a valid email address.

* Please live in the United States.

Winner will be picked March 28 and book will be sent out by Simon and Schuster.

Stay tuned for next month's giveaway (starting April 1) of Blacklands by Belinda Bauer. Her newest thriller, Darkside, will be out in May.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie (review #112)

Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie

Genre: Paranormal Mystery

Publisher: Penguin/Obsidian

Format: Library Loan

*Read for my A-Z Mystery Author Challenge

Well, this is certainly a big change from the last few books I reviewed. I told you I needed to take a break for a bit from the heavy books I've been reading. This did the trick. Let's just start by saying, I'm not a big fan of the paranormal reads. Ok? There you have it. I'm sure 75% of the blogosphere just stopped dead in their tracks. I know, doesn't everyone love this genre? It's everywhere! Well, I don't hate it, I just don't seek it out to read much.

Don't get me wrong, I am a sucker for Twilight, LOVE Buffy and Angel, and if I were to some how turn into a Succubi, I would be okay with "working it all out" with a studly vampire.

But it's not a genre I can read a lot of. I do, however, LOVE this Ghost Hunter Mystery series by Victoria Laurie. I picked them up on a whim after I was laid off and decided to give some new lighter genres a try. I like the whole ghost busting, ghost hunter thing. I watch the shows. I love the spooky movies. So, this really turned out to be right up my alley.

Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls is #5 in the series. M.J Holliday is the sassy female character. She is a ghost hunter, psychic medium who travels to different spooky hot spots around the world with her team; Gilley, her gay best friend and computer guru; Heath, her partner is psychic crime and hmmm, potential love interest; Gopher, her producer for her new Ghoul Getters TV show and a whole cast of helpers and spooks and gooks.

What started out as just her own business in the first few books, M.J. has progressed to being quite a successful, sought after medium. In the last book, the realty show Ghoul Getters started and continues in this one. This has made the books even more fun. They find themselves in some pretty far off places. In this case, Dunlow Castle in Ireland. There seems to be a cranky phantom there who is intent on guarding some long ago buried treasure.

M.J. and her gang are to investigate and get some neat shots for the show and be off. Unfortunately they all get tangled up in the mystery even more. It's not as simple as getting rid of the phantom. They discover many secrets and betrayals along the way in this tiny town.

Rating: 5/6

I really recommend these. I find them to be really fun and a bit scary too. In light of the topics and situations they find themselves in, it could come across as a bit cheesy but it doesn't. Laurie writes with ease and obviously has quite a knowledge of the paranormal being a real-life professional psychic. I would definitely start out with Book 1- What's a Ghoul to do? You will get a taste of M.J. and follow her story and relationships better that way.

Book Club Pick:

Nope. Just for my own little fun!

Author Website:

The whole series can be checked out here. Victoria Laurie

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy (review #104)

Buffalo West Wing- Julie Hyzy

A White House Chef Mystery #4

*Read for A-Z Mystery Author Challenge

I've been feeling in a cozy state of mind lately. I blame in on all the darn snow and recently finishing The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, a book far, far from cozy. I stumbled across this book from Lori at Dollycas's Thoughts and actually solicited the publicist to review. I think I have done that two other times in my blog career here. I wanted something new and I was curious about the review opportunities for Cozies. It also gave me the perfect book to review to start off the new year and my first challenge. So, here we are.

I had never read The White House Chef mystery series before but I have heard from Jenny at Take Me Away that they are pretty good.

I am a little weird about jumping in on series but I decided to throw that to the wind. In this case, I didn't feel like I was missing too much, though it made me curious about a few things.

Olivia Paras is the main gal in this series. She is also the Executive Chef for the First Family at the White House. She is straight-forward, damn good at what she does and overly cautious of the goings on at the White House. Her strict house rules and observant nature have certainly helped some sticky situations but have also thrown her into some dangerous ones as well.

This time, there is a new family in the White House, and she is doing everything she can to have a great first meal planned for them. A suspicious box of chicken wings shows up in her kitchen addressed to the kids and no one knows where it came from.

She hides it and refuses to give it to the kids because of it's unknown delivery source. This causes an upset with the First lady and a rocky start with the First Kids. How can you deny my children?!!!!!

Little did she know that they were poisoned and aimed to hurt the children. Hmmm....

Rating: 4/6 Recommended

Olivia is definitely a fun character to read, a little bossy, a little socially awkward, honest and a good friend. With most cozies it seems the main character has a habit of stumbling on to something bad and this was no different but I found it to be rather enjoyable. I liked the Washington D.C setting combined with the bustling about of the White House. That certainly gave it a unique feel.

Olivia had a past relationship in the previous books and that is mentioned in this one. That is the only area I really felt I was missing a bit of back story.

Author Website:

Julie Hyzy

State of the Onion #1, Hail to the Chef #2 and Eggsecutive Orders #3 round out the series.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

*Thank you to Dana at Kay Publicity for sending me a review copy.

Review #90: Chasing the Night by Iris Johansen

Chasing the Night by Iris Johansen

Genre: Mystery

Series: Eve Duncan series

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

ISBN: 978-0-312-65119-0

Price/Pages: $27.99/384

Release Date: October 19

My Thoughts and Description:

Surprisingly in all my years of working in bookstores and being a mystery lover, I have never picked up an Iris Johansen book. She's only written about...oh, 40 books or so. I just figured she'd always be there to some day pick up. I finally found that day.

Chasing the Night is her latest installment in her Eve Duncan series. Eve is a Forensic Sculptor who pieces together the bones of the dead, reconstructing them in

hopes to identify them.

She is very good at what she does and because of it, she is kept very busy.

Having never read any of the other books in the series, I got a small glimpse into Eve's world and personality. She has a lover, Joe Quinn, who happens to be a tough good looking cop (gotta love those). She has an adopted daughter Jane who she rarely sees. And she has a ghost...of her abducted daughter Bonnie, taken from her years ago. Her disappearance was never solved and it haunts Eve all these years later.

She uses that pain to guide her and motivate her to find the identity of her victims, mostly children. She wants to give the hurting parents the closure she never had.

I think I may like Eve. I think I may want to go back and read more about her. I didn't necessarily feel like I was missing out on a whole lot for this particular book but for my own weirdness in reading books in order, I may go back and see how it all started.

Chasing the Night matches Eve up with Catherine Ling, a troubled woman who is searching for her own lost child, Luke. Luke was taken when he was 2 by a Russian gangster that Catherine had brought down during her time in the CIA. Rakovac, the gangster, has been baiting Catherine for years, torturing her by not telling her whether Luke is alive or dead.

Catherine is determined to end this game and find her son, nine years later. She approaches Eve, knowing she can help her do an age progression on Luke. Eve is known for caring for her subjects, especially children, and will stop at nothing to help.

Though hesitant at first, Eve agrees to help Catherine in the initial age progressionn. Ultimately they become friends and Eve takes it even further and goes with Catherine to find Luke and kill Rakovac.

This book was definitely fast paced but a bit too full of espionage for me. I was more interested in Catherine and her son and what Eve did for a living. That was the intriguing part. It got a little too involved with the business of Rakovac, the CIA, the terriorism, etc. I find myself wanting to watch movies like that but not really wanting to read books that involve too much of that kind of storyline.

That was really my only issue with it. It seems Iris Johansen can piece together a heart pounding thriller. As a mother, she could really tear at your heart strings with the pain these mothers go through. There are a whole mess of side characters that come in that really make it more involved. Joe Quinn, Eve's lover, was by far, the most intriguing, in my opinion.

I just love those rugged cops!

Rating: 4 stars/ 6 stars

I would recommend it for thriller fans. It definitely has more of an edgy feel to it with all of the hopping from country to country and the terror threats and the CIA involvement. I am a fan of tough female characters and Eve Duncan certainly fits that. I am certainly going to look into her early books in this series.

Author Website:

Iris Johansen

Thanks to Ann Marie from Get Red PR for allowing me the chance to finally read Iris!

Happy reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child