Category: Contemporary

The Rock by L.J. Ross

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, MysteryLeave a comment

The Rock (DCI Ryan Mysteries, #18)Barbara’s Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: DCI Ryan Mysteries #18
Publication Date: 5/5/21
Period: Contemporary Northumberland, UK
Number of Pages: 368

Goodness! I am definitely enamored of this series! The mystery is excellently plotted and perfectly paced. You’ll have a feeling of knowing all of the characters – good and bad. You’ll love the good ones and hate the bad ones – and you’ll know why in each case. We are eighteen books into the series and I still look forward to each new book with as much enthusiasm as I did in the beginning. I love that the author deals with some very gritty social issues – in this case human trafficking – and she presents the subject in such a way that you learn something at the same time you are trying to puzzle out the mystery along with Ryan’s team.  BTW – in case it matters to you – there is a lot about personal relationships within the book. It takes place around Valentine’s Day. For me, those personal tidbits and relationships are what make reading the dark, gritty subject matter tolerable. If it was just a police procedural with no personal information on the investigators, I would have stopped reading the series long ago.

Twenty very scared young women are drugged and handcuffed in the hold of an old, beat-up fishing trawler bound for Scotland. Storm Edith is raging outside and the vessel is creaking and popping and the water is coming in so fast the ship cannot be saved. The four men who are their captors free the women and force them into the freezing water. They are ordered to swim for shore and stay together. Eighteen of the women and all four of their captors make it to the shore together. Two of the women are either dead or separated. The captors search the beaches and caves, but they find no sign of the two missing women.

The broken, bloated body of a young woman is found the next morning – in/near the wreckage of a fishing trawler. DCI Ryan and his team get the call to come to the scene and when they see the body – and notice the bruising on the wrists, they are sure they have more than just a drowning victim.

While Ryan’s team doesn’t know about the woman who is still missing, we do – and so do the kidnappers. What happens to that missing woman – and separately to the other eighteen women is our story. And – it is a doozie of a story. We meet some of the most despicable characters you’ll ever read. They are cruel, unfeeling, selfish, and … well, you name it and if it is bad, they fit. With delight, we watch Ryan and his team methodically follow the leads and dismantle this human trafficking organization. We also witness horrible abuse – and a sad death for a boy I’d hope could be rescued and redeemed.

I definitely recommend this book – and this series. It is an exciting, fast-paced read that will keep you interested from the first page to the last. I read it straight through in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down – I had to know what happened next. I hope you’ll enjoy the book as much as I did.

View all my reviews

Murder at the Gorge by Frances Evesham

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, MysteryLeave a comment

Murder at the GorgeBarbara’s Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Series: Exham On Sea Mysteries #7
Publication Date: 11/17/20
Period: Contemporary – Exham on Sea, UK
Number of Pages: 256

This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first. The first book I read, Murder At the Lighthouse, was also the first book in the series and I was delighted to see how much the characters and relationships had grown between the first book and this one. The mystery is well-plotted and there are lots of red herrings dropped along the way – just to keep you guessing. It is a well-told tale set in a village filled with interesting characters. Oh! You might also want to buy some low-calorie snacks because all of the chocolate making and cake baking will surely add several pounds to your figure before you are finished reading.

There have been lots of developments in Libby Forest’s life since the first book and I will definitely go back and read the other books as I get a chance. Some of the notable developments between the first book and this one are:

• Frank, the baker (and Libby’s boss), is dancing a jig because he’s retiring. He’s sold the bakery and the new owner is expanding and moving to a new building.
• Mandy and Libby will be supplying the cakes and chocolates for the new café.
• Libby has finished her cookbook and has even written another one.
• Max and Libby are engaged and their wedding will be within two weeks
• Max and his son Joe are less estranged than they were thanks to Libby
• Max and Libby have a private detective business and have investigated a number of cases.
• Libby’s son, Robert, has married and is expecting Libby’s first grandchild
• Libby’s daughter, Ali, has left England and is living in South America.

Max and Libby are as excited as they can be about their upcoming wedding. It is only two weeks away and the planning is well in hand. But, of course, the best-laid plans …

Libby’s daughter, Ali, calls about coming home for the wedding – causing them to push the date back by a week – AND – secretive Max gets a call from his ex-wife, Stella. Without telling Libby about the call, Max goes to meet Stella to learn why she thinks she needs his help. You know things are only going to get worse when, after Stella leaves, Max discovers a dead body. OOPS!

Stella’s need for help stemmed from some anonymous email threats she had received and when local villagers began to receive threatening emails containing nursery rhymes, Max knew they all had to be related. But how? Stella isn’t from Exham, has never lived in Exham, and has no ties to the village whatsoever. Are Stella’s emails just a coincidence that happens at the same time as those in the village?

When a second body is discovered at the same place as the first, more questions arise. Why would that man be in exactly that same spot? Are the murders related to the email threats? How are the two bodies connected? Are they connected? Can Max and Libby solve the mystery before there are more bodies found? Can they protect themselves from the killer? OH! My! Goodness! You’ll just have to read the book to find out the answers to all of these delicious and tantalizing questions.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I hope you will as well. I’ll admit that I had some questions about why a mature (50ish) woman like Libby would continue with the wedding plans when Max is still secretive – especially after her disaster of a first marriage. I’d have wanted to have a very serious talk about trust and honesty before I went that route – so I’m assuming that since Libby is a smart woman, they would have had that talk – just off-page. I am looking forward to the next book in the series, Murder at the Abbey,which will be releasing soon.

View all my reviews