Killing Raven by Margaret Coel - Lawyer Vicky Holden is hired by the new casino for contract work but discovers something else is going on. Meanwhile, Father John is called to the sight of a murder and worries there will be another. The ending was exciting and I'm going to continue with this series in spite of the aggravation of unrequited love.
3 stars
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Daybreak by Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson - someone is killing goose hunters in Iceland. The author really liked describing the detectives apartments and clothing without making them seem real. Fairly mundane right up to the end which was quite exciting. As far as I know, this is a stand alone, not part of a series. I'm giving this author another chance with a book that received good reviews on Goodreads.
2 stars
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The Star of Istanbul by Robert Olen Butler - Christopher Cobb is a journalist turned spy for the US when he is sent off on the Lusitania to follow a suspected German spy. This is the second book in the series and there were many references made to the first which ruined any reason to read it. The author is a Pulitzer prize winner. In my limited experience reading such authors, it seems to mean a paragraph is written when a simple sentence would do.
2 stars
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Ripper by Isabel Allende - the first mystery by this author and certainly not her forte. An airhead mother, nerdy/brainy teen, jealous ex who is also a cop and other cliches fill this book about a serial killer that no one realizes is a serial killer until the 5th victim. Every single person in this book has a back story, including the buildings and even a stream. Why did I need to know the stream had salmon going up it two weeks ago? They did not make a reappearance. The last 10 pages were exciting but I hated the outcome. This 500 page book was in desperate need of an editor and about 200 less pages.
1 star
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The Purity of Vengeance by Jussi Adler-Olsen - Dept Q investigates a 20 year old cold case that has ties to a political party trying to gain a foothold in Denmark. I put this down about a third of the way through because although I can deal with murder, I have a lot of trouble with colds and the flu described in minute detail. I don't do well with phlegm. When I picked up the book again, everyone seemed to have recovered and the story flowed along from there.
3 stars
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The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness - In the middle of the night George finds a crane in his backyard that has been shot by an arrow. After rescuing it, his life changes drastically. I don't really know what to call this book, I guess an adult fairy tale. What's real and what isn't?
4 stars
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Lion Plays Rough by Lachlan Smith - I found the plot very convoluted, involving corrupt police, unethical lawyers and drug runners. Very few people in this story behave in an ethical way.
2 stars
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Lucky Us by Joan Silber - 40-something Gabe and 20-something Elisa fall in love and are thinking of getting married when suddenly their world falls apart. Told from both points of view. Lots of matter of fact sex.
3 stars
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The Accident by Chris Pavone - an anonymous manuscript will bring down some powerful people - IF it is published. Told mostly from the viewpoint of a book agent, a person in the CIA, and the author of the manuscript. It was a little hard to get into at first while trying to figure out who was who and what was going on. But the story builds and becomes very exciting at the end as more is revealed.
4 stars
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