Book Review: "Ironwood" by Michael Connelly

Michael Connelly has written more than 40 books and I’ve been reading them since 1992, when his first book was published. He has created some prolific characters, which have spawned several series. Ironwood is the second book in a new series, and this one kicked ass.

Stilwell is a detective sergeant stationed on California’s Catalina Island. Those who get stationed there are usually paying for making someone higher-up angry, or for doing something illegal or inappropriate. Stilwell was sent to Catalina for similar reasons, but he’s grown to like that it’s separate from the chaos of Los Angeles.

One night, acting on a tip one of his deputies got from a confidential informant, Stilwell and two of his deputies are staking out the island’s airstrip. They’re waiting for a plane to land and drop off drugs. But when it does, the deputies close in on the plane, shots are fired, and the plane leaves.

The whole incident has tragic consequences. As the police investigate, Stilwell is relegated to the side. But he wants to know who was responsible and where everything went wrong, so he does some investigating on the side.

Meanwhile, when sorting through the list and found, he finds an expensive backpack that belonged to a woman who disappeared while hiking four years earlier. But the backpack was found only two months ago; why is that? Stilwell’s looking into this connects him to the cold case unit led by Detective Renée Ballard. And what this partnership uncovers is another tangled web he’ll have to deal with.

Connelly is so good at taking his time to lay out the details and then gradually ratchet up the tension. He always keeps me guessing one way or another. I hope there will be a third book in this series!!

Book Review: "Murder by Design" by Lee Goldberg

I previously worked for an organization that represented product designers and one that represented architecture students. So imagine my surprise when my May selection from Amazon First Reads was about how the design of our world makes it easier for murders to occur! (And the author credited books written by people I’ve known.)

Edison Bixby is an ex-police detective. He’s handsome, fabulously wealthy, and impeccably dressed—and he has no filter, as the result of a traumatic brain injury he sustained on the job. While the TBI causes him to speak his mind, it hasn’t halted his brilliance, and he now works as an insurance investigator.

Bixby is a firm believer that the design of the world around us enables people to kill. But before his next case, Wally Nash, an aspiring actor who truly believes in his craft, gets hired to be his assistant. It’s Wally’s job to apologize for Bixby’s rudeness and smooth things over for him. But Wally sees this as the ultimate acting job, at least until he lands his dream role.

From their very first case working together, Wally is dazzled by Bixby’s brilliance and his doggedness in solving crimes. He finds clues and motives where no one else can, and even the most outlandish-sounding theories come true. They often work at the behest of a police detective with whom Bixby has a “situationship,” although they often find themselves at odds with one another.

Their investigation of the death of a woman who fell down a flight of stairs at a shopping mall seems pretty cut and dried. But what looks like sheer negligence appears to be murder in Bixby’s eyes, and the deeper he digs, the more tangled the web he has stepped in gets.

I thought this was such a great book. Bixby is one of the most unique characters I’ve read about in a long while, and his banter with Wally is top-notch. I really wasn’t sure how everything would tie up, but I really loved this, and I’m so glad a second book is on the horizon.

The book will publish 6/1.

Book Review: "A Violent Masterpiece" by Jordan Harper

This was definitely one of the darker and more disturbing crime novels I’ve read in a while. But the images that Jordan Harper’s prose evoked definitely were cinematic, which really amplified the book’s power. Thanks to Mulholland Books and NetGalley for the complimentary advance copy!

Like most big cities, Los Angeles is both playground and a hotbed of crime. Jake is a live-streaming nightcrawler, taking his audience on a no-holds-barred trip through the city each night, showing up at crimes in progress and the detritus of crime scenes. It’s all an adrenaline rush for him.

Kara works for a private concierge company that serves an exclusive clientele. Whatever their clients need—drugs, sex, even more nefarious things—the company provides. Yet Kara is haunted by the disappearance of her best friend Phoebe, and the scene she witnessed at Phoebe’s apartment after she went missing.

Doug is a defense lawyer for the downtrodden. But when he is hired to defend a Hollywood pedophile, it launches him into the public spotlight—and into a web more tangled and dangerous than he can ever imagine.

These three characters become intertwined with each other as the city is reeling from an apparent serial killer and the pedophile’s vow to seek revenge. The scandal, the fear, the danger all run very deep—can they find the answers they’re seeking before their enemies attack? And who are they anyway?

This is a really gritty book which pulsates with violence, rich and powerful people behaving badly, and those who try to keep their heads above water. It would make one hell of a movie, but it’s a pretty terrific read.

The book publishes 4/28.

Book Review: "In His Wake" by Chad Zunker

This compulsively readable political thriller was one of the Amazon First Reads selections for this month. Thanks so much to Thomas & Mercer for the complimentary advance copy; this would make a great movie!

“Power makes you do foolish things. It clouds your head like a dangerous drug and warps your mind. Like a cancer, it changes you from the inside out. And it can quickly bring you to your knees.”

When a presidential candidate is assassinated in Austin, Texas two weeks before the election, it throws the country into turmoil. Dean Dawson is an investigative reporter covering the incident, although his older brother Eric, who is the FBI special agent in charge, keeps him in line.

Amidst all of the chaos, Dean gets contacted by his ex-girlfriend April. She saw a text thread on her boss’ phone that not only mentions the assassination, but also raises the possibility that Dean’s father—a former partner at April’s firm—might not have drowned a few months ago. Could his father still be alive? And could he have been involved in the candidate’s assassination?

The more that Dean and April try to uncover, the more leads that Eric and the FBI chase, the more people start ending up dead. They have no idea how tangled this web of lies and corruption is, and how much they might all be in danger.

From the minute I started reading, I was hooked. The sad thing is, thrillers like these seem much less far-fetched given what’s happening in the country. Chad Zunker kept the pacing going and the tension rising.

The book publishes 2/1.

Book Review: "Detour" by Jeff Rake and Rob Hart

John Ward is a billionaire who is running as a third-party candidate for president. He’s funding a mission to Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. The mission will lay the foundation for future settlements as the effects of climate change destroy Earth.

The crew of the mission is composed of three astronauts and three civilians. The astronauts are legendary and the hope is they will train the three civilians: Padma, the scientist whose research convinced Ward to form the mission; Stitch, a graffiti artist who won his seat in a lottery; and Ryan, a Washington, DC cop who helped foil an assassination attempt on Ward.

The mission will last two years. Ryan doesn’t want to leave his wife and kids for that long, but Ward promises him a $15 million paycheck which could change their lives. And although all six of the crew members are nervous about the mission, they move forward with it.

But when the ship starts circling Titan, things go wrong. The ship is rocked by multiple explosions which threaten their return home. Yet working together, they’re able to make it back to Earth and are hailed as heroes.

Upon their return, each person notices that their life isn’t quite what it was before the mission. They returned home to find things—and their loved ones—are strangely different, like they’re in the wrong multiverse. Ward has ordered that the crew members can’t talk to each other or the press. What happened on their mission? They’re not quite prepared for what comes next.

Science fiction isn’t my usual genre, but this sci-fi thriller was excellent. It’s the start of a series and I hope I don’t have to wait long for the next book!

Book Review: "Anatomy of An Alibi" by Ashley Elston

“It’s not just the anatomy of an alibi—having someone vouch that you were somewhere else when the crime was committed—but it’s the psychology of it: that that someone is believable.”

I love when a book I’ve been eagerly anticipating by an author whose work I love knocks it completely out of the park. This book has been everywhere on Bookstagram but I finally sat down and read it, and it proved that Ashley Elston’s success writing adult novels was not a one-time thing!

Camille is the daughter of a powerful Louisiana family. Her husband Ben is a handsome lawyer whose representation is sought after by the most powerful people. Not too bad for someone just barely 30!

But Camille is not happy in her marriage. Ben has been spying on her every move, and she’s fairly certain he’s corrupt. Once she has proof, she can divorce him. When she meets Aubrey, who believes Ben is tied to a tragedy in her life, Camille might have found the way to put her plan in motion. She and Aubrey will trade identities for 12 hours, so Ben will think he’s tracking Camille, but she’ll actually be spying on him.

Both women believe they have a foolproof alibi, but that isn’t the case. And they have no idea what they’ve stepped in the middle of.

Every time I thought I had a handle on what was happening, Elston flipped the script. There are a lot of narrators and lots of time shifts (pay attention to the chapter headers) but it all contributes to a crazy puzzle of a book! Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Book Review: "The Frequency of Living Things" by Nick Fuller Googins

“I decided right there to play it safe: one full week to detox from my sisters. Because family and opioids really aren’t so different. Both can make you feel great until suddenly they don’t.”

Even though she’s the youngest, Josie has almost always taken care of her older twin sisters, Ara and Emma. Josie is a scientist, organized and levelheaded (at least when it comes to other people’s lives). Her sisters are musicians, so Josie often pays their rent, schedules their doctors’ appointments, and helps with issues related to their band.

The band, Jojo and the Twins, were once a huge, Grammy-nominated success. But their second album remains elusive, and it’s been years since they opened for famous bands. Their lack of progress in recent years is definitely related to Ara’s problems with addiction and dealing with trauma from an assault. Emma feels as if she’s to blame for the assault, so she’s essentially been enabling Ara’s addiction.

But when Ara winds up in jail, it throws Josie and Emma in a tailspin. Emma decides that the band will record a jailhouse album and hopes that preorders will help pay Ara’s bail. But for the first time, Ara decides she wants to kick her drug habit and her reliance on her sisters, both of which are easier said than done.

Their mother Bertie is a famous lawyer and fighter of injustice. She was too busy building a better world for her daughters than actually mothering them. When she is asked to help Ara, she has to decide whether to come back into her daughters’ lives or let them fight their own battles.

I love books about family dynamics and drama, and this one had a lot of it! It’s a powerful read that evoked a lot of different emotions in me. I felt like the book meandered a bit as it provided background into the characters, particularly Bertie, but the story really moved me.

Book Review: "Too Old for This" by Samantha Downing

The rumors you may have heard are true: Samantha Downing has written another fantastic book. Thanks so much to Berkley and NetGalley for the advance copy!

“Some people probably think my method is crazy. I think it’s crazy there aren’t more people more like me.”

Lottie lives a quiet life in her small town. It’s mostly bingo at the church on Thursdays (her friends always judge what she brings for potluck and what she wears) and then Sunday services. Her adult son Archie is getting married again, and his much-younger bride wants Lottie’s approval.

Her peace and quiet is shattered with the arrival of Plum Dixon on her doorstep. You see, Plum, who is an investigative journalist, is researching for a docuseries about unsolved crimes. And she thinks Lottie would be a great subject, because years ago, in another town, under another name, Lottie was the prime suspect in a number of murders, but then she disappeared.

Of course, the last thing Lottie wants is for her past to be stirred up. So she has no choice than to, umm, redirect Plum. But for 75-year-old Lottie, disposing of evidence is a lot harder than when she was younger. And then someone comes along looking for Plum…

I’ve been a fan of Downing’s thrillers since her very first. But Lottie is a fantastically memorable character, and this book is deliciously twisty. It’s fun and a little gruesome.

Book Review: "The Writer" by James Patterson and J.D. Barker

I’ve been on a real James Patterson kick lately and I’ve not been disappointed by anything of his I’ve read! His newest book, a collaboration with JD Barker, wowed me completely.

Declan Shaw, an NYPD detective, is summoned to an exclusive apartment building one night. A woman says she found her husband dead, their apartment broken into. She is in shock, covered in blood, but apparently unharmed.

The woman is Denise Morrow, a bestselling true crime writer. She’s explored some notorious cases, uncovering details and secrets long kept hidden. And she’s nearly done with her latest book, in which she accuses Declan of planting evidence in another case.

It looks like Denise might be guilty of murdering her husband and making it look like a home invasion. But she and her lawyer poke holes in the evidence the police have collected.

Every time the police think they have an ironclad case, something else arises. What really happened that night? And is Declan a corrupt cop who planted evidence, or is he being framed?

The twists came fast and furious in this book, and I could not put it down. I loved the way this unfolded and I wasn’t sure which characters to root for. This was a great collaboration!

Book Review: "The Life and Death of Rose Doucette" by Harry Hunsicker

Dylan is an ex-cop turned private investigator in Dallas. He is surprised when his ex-wife Rose, a homicide detective, asks to meet him, since it’s been three years since they’ve seen one another.

Rose tells Dylan about a murder case she’s handling, but the powers-that-be want her to call it a suicide. She doesn’t believe the victim killed himself, and apparently Rose has been taken off the case. After a short disagreement, Rose leaves, but when Dylan sees a car starting to follow her, he gives chase. The next thing he knows, Rose has been shot, he gets hit in the head, and the assailant gets away.

Dylan is the leading suspect in Rose’s death. But the last thing he remembers is Rose asking him to keep looking into the murder case, so even though he’s warned not to investigate, he is determined to keep his promise to her.

Teaming up with Rose’s current husband, Tito, they begin looking into who might have killed Rose and why. The men learn that there were many things in Rose’s life she kept a secret from both of them. And the more they dig into these secrets, the more danger they put themselves—and others—in.⁣⁣⁣

Trying to find answers only leads them to more questions, and puts them in the middle of a dangerous web of corruption, violence, and blackmail. As Tito and Dylan both deal with their grief over Rose’s death, they need everything to fall into place before it’s too late.⁣⁣⁣

I thought this was an excellent read. I really enjoyed these characters and the emotions that transpired among them, and the plot definitely kept me guessing. I’d love it if this was the start of a series!

Book Review: "Village in the Dark" by Iris Yamashita

I’ve never been to Alaska but it’s high on my travel bucket list. Luckily, lots of books are set there, so I can visit by reading.

A year ago, Cara’s husband and young son disappeared while on a hike, as the family vacationed. Their remains were found, but Cara’s grief and anger have remained, and led to her suspension from the Anchorage Police Department.

When she finds a picture of her family on the cellphone of a dead gang member, she starts to wonder what really happened to her husband and son. And while every lead she follows winds up in a dead end, she’s determined to find the truth.

As she tries to investigate what happened to the other people whose photos appeared on the gang member’s phone, she steps into a very complicated web of deception and danger. Connecting with a young Native woman, they wind up traveling to a remote village called Unity, created to protect women and children from their abusers. It is there that Cara learns the truth.

As she puts herself and others at risk in order to find answers, she must also resolve her feelings for JB, a police detective she met while on assignment. He’d do anything for Cara, but will his sacrifices lead to happily ever after or grief and danger?

This is the second book in a series which in part takes place in Point Mettier, Alaska, an isolated town that can only be accessed by an underground tunnel, and where all the residents live in one large condo building. The first book, City Under One Roof, is really good, too, but you don’t have to have read that first.

I love the way Iris Yamashita writes. These books are so atmospheric I can feel the cold and see the images she creates. The fact that these books read like a movie is no surprise, considering Yamashita is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter. I hope there’s a third book!!

Book Review: "Sleeping Giants" by Rene Denfeld

Whenever I read a book by Rene Denfeld, I know that it will be both emotional and thought-provoking. Denfeld’s books often look at the most vulnerable or marginalized in society, and I’ve been a huge fan since her incredible debut, The Enchanted.

Amanda was adopted as a baby, but she had no idea that she had an older brother Dennis, who died years ago. In need of connection to her past, she travels to the remote Oregon town where he drowned when he was nine.

Seeing the memorial the community put up after he was lost to the ocean prompts Amanda to find out what happened to him. She meets Larry, a retired, widowed police officer, who wants to help Amanda find answers.

They find out that Dennis was living in a home for disturbed boys from the time he was four. While the home had at one point been well-regarded, the boys were subjected to a controversial and dangerous form of treatment, and several boys disappeared. The home is now in ruins, and those still around to remember things are fairly reluctant to share any details. And someone will stop at nothing to make sure secrets stay secret.

“They say inchoate memory, formed before language, is the worst of all, because it flies like bats in your bones: you cannot heal from what you cannot voice.”

The book shifts between past and present, following Dennis’ time in the home and Amanda and Larry’s search for information. This book made me cry—definitely check trigger warnings because it packs a powerful punch. But out of the sadness comes hope.

Book Review: "The Best Lies" by David Ellis

I don’t know what it is about 2024, but some of my favorite thrillers have been all about lies: First Lie Wins, Listen for the Lie, and now, The Best Lies.

This book had my heart racing from the very first page. David Ellis’ last book, Look Closer, totally blew me away and was one of my favorite reads of 2022. While this was different in some ways, here, too, there were lots of twists and turns and I didn’t have any idea how it would all get resolved. But when I was finished with the book, I wanted to read it all again to see if I missed anything!

So much of what worked about this book for me was not knowing what to expect, so I’m going to be fairly vague about the plot. When the book starts, Leo, a criminal defense attorney from the Chicago area, is about to be arrested for murder. But as we see from the way the plot shifts back and forth through time, what brought Leo to this moment is much more than meets the eye initially.

The book is narrated from several characters’ perspectives, and it deals with a lot of themes. It also raises the question of whom you can trust, and if certain crimes can be overlooked if the motive behind them was pure.

David Ellis is a phenomenal storyteller. If anyone has read his backlist, please tell me which book to pick up next!

Many thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the advance copy! The book will publish 7/23.

Book Review: "First Lie Wins" by Ashley Elston

Wow, this was so good! Many of you know I'm not that big on thrillers, but I absolutely devoured this!

Evie Porter recently moved to a small Louisiana town and she has a handsome, devoted boyfriend, Ryan. She recently met (and was interrogated by) a number of his closest female friends, who want to know everything about her and her intentions toward their friend. How did they meet? Where is she from? What does she do for a living? Where is she currently living? The questions go on and on.

While Evie's interaction with Ryan's friends is somewhat unnerving, part of her understands their vigilance. But the fact is, Evie Porter doesn't really exist. This is an identity given to her by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith. After she gets her identity and a location, she learns everything there is to know about "her" background and the town she is sent to. Then she gets her mark—in this case, it's Ryan—and then she awaits information on the job.

She doesn't know the true identity of Mr. Smith, and rarely knows who his clients are. And as she waits to find out what her assignment is, her feelings for Ryan are quickly intensifying and becoming real, and she starts to envision a different kind of life, and that's a problem. But given that her last job didn't wrap up the way it was supposed to, she's under significant scrutiny this time.

The one salvation she's always had is her real identity. It's always been a beacon for her, a fallback plan. So imagine her surprise when someone claiming to be that individual—her—comes to town and knows her background backwards and forwards. Is this a warning to Evie, or is it a more direct threat? She relishes a challenge, but it's going to take everything in her arsenal to find a way forward.

I loved this book. What's even more amazing to me is that this is Ashley Elston's adult debut—she's previously only written YA novels. (One of which, 10 Blind Dates, was absolutely adorable.) But the plotting, the twists, the tension in this book all were spot-on. Can't wait to see what she does next!

Book Review: "My Darkest Prayer" by S.A. Cosby

Sometimes doing a favor can cause more trouble than you bargained for.

It’s good to see S.A. Cosby starting to get a bit more recognition for his books. The truth is, however, he should be a household name. He’s just that good.

Nathan is a former Marine and deputy sheriff who works at his cousin’s funeral home. His life has been touched by tragedy but he’s known as a solid guy, one with a short fuse, but one who can get things done for people when all other channels fail.

When Reverend Esau Watkins is found dead, local law enforcement rules it a suicide. But a few of his parishioners don’t agree, and they offer to pay Nathan to look into things. He figures he’ll either find it was a suicide, or find enough evidence to convince the state police to investigate.

Nathan expects resistance from the local police, but he doesn’t realize he’s about to step into a gigantic web of corruption and lies that is more far-reaching than he could imagine. It’ll take everything he has—and then some—if he’s to survive.

I just love the way Cosby writes. His characters are flawed and complex, but you can’t help but root for them. This is a little slower-paced than his other books but it’s excellent.

Book Review: "Dead Wind" by Tessa Wegert

Tessa Wegert's upcoming book, Dead Wind, is a multi-layered thriller, full of suspense and emotion. It's just so good!!

In the third book in her series featuring Senior Investigator Shana Merchant, Wegert hits a home run with this story of vulnerability and familial legacy. This series truly gets better and better and I enjoyed my return to upstate New York’s Thousand Islands.

When a body is discovered propped up against a wind turbine on Wolfe Island, the identification of the victim throws the local community into turmoil. Shana and her partner Tim need to figure out who was responsible for the murder, which is no easy feat given that the case involves local politics, environmental issues, and secrets lost through the years.

But as they try to catch this killer, both Shana and Tim need to figure out if it’s someone local or if it’s another strike by serial killer Blake Bram, who has been playing a game of cat-and-mouse with Shana for a while now. And when her aunt hires a private investigator to find what happened to her long-lost cousin, Shana wonders whether the house of cards of secrets she’s been building around her is going to fall down, endangering those she cares about.

This series is really fantastic. Wegert is a terrific writer, imbuing her thrillers with real emotional complexity as well as such evocative imagery that you can feel the fog and the chill around you. These books are a little slow-burn at the start but that helps to build atmosphere and mood.

Even if you’re not into mystery/thriller series, I’d encourage you to pick these books up, and start with Death in the Family, the first book. Hopefully you’ll become a fan, too!

Thanks to Suzy Approved Book Tours, Tessa Wegert, and Severn House for inviting me on the tour and providing a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!

Dead Wind publishes 4/5/22.

Book Review: "Olga Dies Dreaming" by Xochitl Gonzalez

Xochitl Gonzalez's debut novel is a powerful, well-written saga of family, heritage, politics, sexuality, secrets, and lies.

In 2017, Olga Acevedo is a sought-after wedding planner for NYC‘s elite, while her older brother Prieto is an affable U.S. congressman representing their Brooklyn neighborhood. But while their lives seem charmed from the outside, in private, things aren’t as perfect. Olga can make magic happen for couples but can’t find her own happiness, and Prieto is haunted by secrets and decisions that he has made.

Their father was a drug addict who died of AIDS, while their mother abandoned the family when the children were young to pursue a radical political agenda in her native Puerto Rico. She barely keeps in touch with them except to have letters delivered to them, letters in which she berates Prieto for his political choices and tries to convince Olga she is wasting her intelligence by not focusing on the cause.

When Hurricane Maria devastates Puerto Rico, their mother resurfaces in a number of ways, trying to convince both of them to do her bidding. They don’t support her methods—nor do they want to get entangled in her mess—but they see the American government’s mistreatment of and horrible neglect toward Puerto Rico and its residents, and they feel compelled to act. But what sacrifices will they have to make in exchange?

Olga Dies Dreaming was one of my Book of the Month picks in December. There was much to love about Gonzalez’s novel, and I found both Olga and Prieto to be fascinating characters. But while I found the book spot-on in its indictment of America’s cruelty toward Puerto Rico, I lost interest in the book when it focused on their mother and her machinations.

If you’re a fan of character-driven books, this is worth a read. There’s definitely a great story and strong characters at its heart.

Book Review: "The Association" by Sharon Ann Ziegler

This one will make you think twice the next time you pay your homeowners’ association dues!!

A young lawyer, disillusioned with her profession, decides to try a fresh start when she and her husband move to Georgia. Her first clients are an elderly couple who moved into a lakeside community on the promise of an idyllic retirement in a beautiful home, surrounded by beautiful landscaping and high-end amenities.

The truth is, of the three neighborhoods in this community called Covington Commons, only one, Eagle’s Nest, has been maintained well and offers its residents access to top-notch services and benefits. The other two, including the one where her clients live, have fallen into disarray and disrepair, residents have to pay exorbitant fees to access the amenities, and their property values have declined drastically since no one will want to move into such a dilapidated community. It's tragic because in many cases, these individuals have invested their retirement savings into these homes.

The more digging she does, the more she finds that all is not right at Covington Commons, and it’s all at the hands of the Association, the group in charge of the community, which treats the neighborhood like their own personal slush fund and resort. The Association’s misdeeds have gone unchecked forever—and there are a lot of scandals that go far beyond the usual complaints. Can one young, female lawyer take on a system that has been awash in corruption and cronyism (on the legal and judicial levels, too) and get justice?

She doesn’t realize what she’s stumbled into, but she won’t stop, even as she puts herself further and further into danger.

I love a good underdog story. The Association is well-paced and suspenseful, and Sharon Ann Ziegler’s storytelling leaves you feeling like you can’t put the book down until you’re done. I devoured the book in just a few hours.

Thanks to Sharon Ann Ziegler for providing me with a complimentary (and beautiful) copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!

Book Review: "The Night Fire" by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch and Renee Ballard return in another fantastic installment of Michael Connelly’s new series pairing two police detectives—one mostly retired, one fully immersed in her job—dogged in their pursuit of finding the truth.

When Bosch’s mentor from his early LAPD days dies, his widow gives Bosch the crime book from an unsolved murder 20 years earlier. Why did he have it all these years? Was he trying to solve the case, or was he trying to hide something? Why is a key piece of evidence blacked out in the murder book—was that from the original detectives or something Harry's mentor did?

Bosch teams up with Ballard to try and figure out what really happened—was it really just a drug deal gone wrong? Meanwhile, Ballard wants to stay on a case she was the first to respond to—a young, homeless man burned to death in his tent on the street—but it turns out there was more to this man than anyone realizes. But to get involved means tangling with her former supervisor, with whom she has a bad history.

As the two both work the cold case and Ballard tries to keep her hand in the fire investigation, Bosch also works on a third case, to try and find a murderer in an effort to ensure he didn’t help set one free. The bond between the two of them deepens, they have to confront their own issues, and realize the truth is not as clear as they thought.

Connelly is truly one of the best crime writers out there. I’ve always loved Bosch, and Ballard is a fantastic, complicated character, so their pairing is dynamic. There’s a lot going on here, so at times it got a little confusing, but Connelly’s writing brings you back into the story.

You can read this as a stand-alone or as part of the series. But if you like crime novels, you should check out his earlier Bosch novels. (There are so many of them!) You'll see what an amazing storyteller he is.

Book Review: "Girls Like Us" by Cristina Alger

What a pleasure it is to read a thriller that doesn't have an unreliable narrator, one which keeps you guessing about every single plot point because you don't know what is true and what is a figment of their imagination!

FBI agent Nell Flynn returns to her childhood home in Long Island's Suffolk County for the first time in 10 years when her father, Martin, a homicide detective, is killed in a motorcycle accident.

Nell and her father were never close, particularly after her mother was brutally murdered when Nell was seven. Even though she followed in Martin's footsteps and became a cop, their relationship was always a bit strained and never really went beyond the exchange of polite information and conversation.

"Dad had an unshakable, almost evangelical sense of right and wrong. But there were contradictions. He loathed drugs but felt comfortable pickling his liver in scotch....The criminals he most despised were abusers of women and children, but I once saw him strike my mother so hard across the face that a red outline of his hand was imprinted on her skin. Dad had his own code. I learned early not to second-guess it. At least, not out loud."

Returning home to Suffolk County awakens a lot of memories for Nell, and she's anxious simply to scatter Martin's ashes, get his house ready to sell, and never return again. But her father's partner, whom she knew from high school, asks for her help investigating the murder of a young woman whose body was found mutilated in a park. It seems this murder is connected to another murder uncovered about a month earlier, which means there very well could be a serial killer on the loose in Suffolk County.

It turns out that Martin was investigating the first murder when he died. While the police seem to have a suspect who looks good for both murders, or at least was involved somehow, they couldn't seem to make the charges stick the first time, but they hope to nail him this time. Nell, however, sees that there are definitive doubts about this man's guilt, yet the police don't seem interested in pursuing any other avenues in terms of a suspect.

The more Nell starts to dig into the lives of the two young women, the more she realizes that there is definitely a second suspect—her father. There are too many coincidences and too many connections. But could her father have been capable of murder? And if he murdered these two women, was he guilty of murdering her mother all those years ago? That question fills Nell with rage and sadness, especially because her seven-year-old self was her father's alibi.

As Nell conducts her own secret investigation, she discovers the murders were part of a much larger operation, involving allegations of police brutality, blackmail, corruption, and prostitution, involving people far beyond Suffolk County. It's easy for the police to write off the two young women as victims because they were undocumented and occasionally worked as escorts, but Nell is determined that their deaths not be in vain—but she doesn't realize what a hornet's nest she's stirred up.

Girls Like Us drew me in from the very first pages and didn't let go until the last. I read the book in one sitting, and stayed up late last night (or this morning, technically) to finish it. There certainly were a few twists I didn't see coming, one which confused me in the way it was initially presented and one which disappointed me a bit, but Cristina Alger didn't let up with the book's pacing until the very end.

Nell is a fantastic character and I wouldn't mind seeing her featured in another book. I've been a big fan of Alger's writing since her first book, and I love the way each book she has written is somewhat different. I had been waiting to read Girls Like Us for a while, and I'm so glad it was as good as I hoped it would be.