Forgotten In Death by JD Robb

Barbara’s Rating:  5 of 5 Stars

Series: In Death #53

Publication Date: 9/7/21

Period:  Future New York – May of 2061

Number of Pages:  384

I absolutely LOVE this series and this book is an outstanding addition to it.  We’re at book 53 and I truly hope we have another 53 books to go!  The writing is exceptional, the mysteries are plausible, and – goodness – the imagination it must take to come up with the very credible and believable inventions they have in the future.  It just boggles the mind.  Then, there are the characters – Roarke, the mysterious Irish billionaire; Lieutenant Eve Dallas, the New York City cop with a dark past (who just happens to be Roarke’s wife); Detective Peabody, the New Ager who is Eve’s partner and protégé; and a plethora of other supporting characters with whom you’ll wish to become friends. 

As May of 2061 is rapidly heading into June, Lieutenant Eve Dallas catches a call as she is heading to work during the early hours of the morning.  A witness has discovered a body in a dumpster at a construction site.  It appears that Eve’s first task of the day will be to climb into a construction dumpster, look for evidence, and remove the lifeless body of a woman.  Eve takes her job very seriously and this woman now belongs to her – she’ll find justice for this victim – just as she finds justice for all of her victims.

Eve has hardly gotten the rest of her team to the scene when she is approached by a young woman who insists Eve come with her to another construction site just a couple of blocks away.  It seems Eve has yet another case because the construction crew has found two sets of remains.  These are not fresh bodies, but skeletal remains of a woman and child – or a woman and an unborn fetus. 

When, a few days later, Eve finds yet another body – this one dying just as Eve finds him – she has to wonder if there is any way these four deaths can be related.  Surely not, because the remains at the second construction site have been there for close to 40 years.  There are some tenuous threads between the construction sites, but not the people.  Well, supposedly not the people because there is no clue who the woman and child are.

As Eve, Peabody, Roarke and the rest of the crew work through the clues, we meet some of the most self-centered, narcissistic, malignant, weak-willed suspects you can imagine.  Weeding through them and figuring out who among them is a killer will put Eve and her crew to the test. 

I can highly recommend this book!  The writing is exceptional, the characters are outstanding, the mystery will test your skills, and the solutions will have you doing a standing ovation for Eve and the crew.  Have you ever raised a fist and shouted “YES!” in a crowded waiting room?  Well, you might be in danger of doing that as Eve and the crew begins to solve the cases and bring the culprit(s) to justice.  Oh! Yes!  It is good.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hitched to the Gunslinger by Michelle Mclean

Hitched to the GunslingerHitched to the Gunslinger by Michelle McLean

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Release Date: August 24, 2021

Gunslinger Gray “Quick Shot” Woodson, is tired and just wants to retire in peace, but that is turning out to be harder than he anticipated. Shaking off the hero-worshiping young man, Jason Sunshine, who has been trying to get Gray to teach him the “trade”, he takes off in search of a place to settle. Someplace where he can nap in peace and where everyone isn’t trying to kill him – but instead he finds himself caught up in an altercation between a feisty woman and some rough-looking men, a situation he plans on ignoring until he is recognized by the men and the woman claims he is her fiancé!

Mercy Douglas shocks herself by claiming the notorious gunfighter is her betrothed, but with her father dead and her neighbor Josiah Banff trying to strong-arm her off her property, she willingly lied when she saw Josiah’s reaction to Gray. Thankfully, Gray plays along and Josiah leaves. Leaving Mercy to deal with her “fiancé” Gray agrees to stick around – but makes it clear, he is not fighting her battles and he is not teaching her how to shoot – he is retired. Mercy agrees to his terms – sorta – but disrupts his peace every chance she gets – including making him take a bath, feeding him semi-edible food, finding the guns he keeps hiding, and making him care – something he never wanted to do – EVER.

Mercy’s antics aside, Gray thinks he will just relax for a bit, letting his reputation keep Mercy’s tormentor at bay, but things don’t go as planned. Not only does Jason show up, but Gray soon finds himself married to Mercy AND the new sheriff of Desolation, and if that isn’t enough – someone has placed a bounty on his head! So much for a quiet retirement – but despite it all, Gray is happy and thinks that maybe he has found a home – but when Mercy gets caught up in an attempt on his life, he realizes that HEA may have been too much to hope for…

This was a well-written, nicely-paced, mostly light-hearted fun story with an amazing cast of characters! I really loved this book, it was such a refreshing change of pace from the typical angst-filled HR books I have been reading lately. I loved that Gray was not a drop-dead Adonis, who sported a six-pack and that Mercy had no qualms about poking fun at him – their banter was priceless making this a truly enjoyable read, one that only got better when Jason Sunshine and the assorted townsfolk were thrown into the mix! The book has laugh-out-loud moments, a wonderful cast of supporting characters, steamyish love scenes, a grumpy hero who just wants a nap, an independent, spirited heroine who can’t cook, a stubborn horse, a great ending in which the villain gets his due and our lovers get their HEA as well as an epilogue! My only complaint about this book is that I have no idea where or when it is set –the town of Desolation is in the very ambiguous “Wild West” with no dates given meaning it could be anytime between 1700 and 1890 and while it isn’t necessary to have that information, it is something I like to know when I am reading. This was my first Western HR by this author, but I can assure you it will not be my last and I would enthusiastically recommend this title and look forward to reading more from this author.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*