Lethal Standoff

by

DiAnn Mills

Starts at high speed and never slows down!

Lethal Standoff is a new Christian romantic suspense novel by the talented, veteran author DiAnn Mills and features dedicated and compassionate female hostage negotiator, Carrington Reed. The story is action-packed and infused with romantic tension from the start, and the entire story is set within the framework of faith. 

Carrington Reed is caring, compassionate, and sincere in her desire to help all parties involved in a hostage situation. She genuinely tries to look past the perpetrators’ actions to get to the root causes of what they’ve done to gain as successful a resolution as she possibly can for all. She is in high demand as an independent hostage negotiator, and the wear and tear of the work is taking a toll. Carrington harbors a health concern that could put an end to her successful career. 

Levi Ehrlich is a Houston journalist who reports on the very situations Carrington tries to defuse, so their paths have crossed often in the past. They’ve developed something of a friendship due in large part to his trustworthy, fair, and balanced reporting. Until now, their relationship has remained strictly professional, but both secretly feel an undeniable romantic attraction to the other. 

Levi’s personal life has undergone some extreme changes since his recent conversion to Messianic Judaism. Born into a conservative Jewish family, he’s been rejected by his father, mother, and sister. Still, he holds out hope that someday they will relent and accept him again, no matter the differences in their beliefs. 

The plot is fast-paced as Carrington is called from one crisis to another, and Levi is close behind in search of a good story. When Levi’s boss demands exaggerated, sensationalized copy to boost circulation, Levi refuses to compromise his integrity, even under threat of dismissal. However, when the hostage negotiation takes some drastic turn, Carrington and Levi are certain there’s more to the hostage-taker’s motive than he claims. As they follow their instincts, the story answers with some surprising twists and turns. 

The author’s storytelling is immersive and compelling; the pages practically turned themselves on the way to the final resolution. With both characters experiencing spiritual struggles, there are some frank and open discussions and questioning of faith and its impact on their lives and the impact of their life experiences on the state of their faith. This is a story of forgiveness and renewal. 

I recommend LETHAL STANDOFF to readers of Christian romantic suspense.

 I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Book Blog Tours.

The Least of These

Detective Abbey Rhodes Mystery, #2

by

Mitchell S. Karnes

What appears to be a simple carjacking gone wrong may be the coverup for something quite different.

The Least of These is the second book in author Mitchell S. Karnes's riveting series of police procedurals featuring Nashville homicide detective Abbey Rhodes and her partner, Detective Sam Tidwell. This latest set of cases involves an apparent carjacking and the murder of a well-connected social media influencer and the suspicious disappearance of several residents of a riverside homeless encampment. The mayor himself takes an active interest in the carjacking when he discovers the victim was the stepson of a wealthy friend. He orders the two detectives to drop all their other cases to focus solely on the murder, which grates on Abbey's sense of right and justice. So, when a friend similarly disappears, she's all in on solving this mystery, no matter the cost to herself or her career. 

Abbey is a likable, engaging main character who has experienced her own trauma in her past. But after a stint in the military, she's more than capable now of taking care of herself while still suffering moments of insecurity and flashbacks to those earlier times. Not quite two years into her assignment with the homicide division, Abbey has some good experience and a couple of high-profile successes under her belt, but understands there's still more to learn about her craft. I liked that she and her partner, Sam Tidwell, have started to coalesce as a team, but they are still learning about each other, and their relationship has a way to go before they form a solid and comfortable partnership. 

The action gets going immediately with the early morning discovery of the murder victim and the call-out for the detectives. What initially appears to be a carjacking gone wrong looks like a sloppy setup to divert the police from is really going on. Across the river, in clear view of the crime scene, is a large community of homeless individuals, perfectly situated for a front row seat to what went down as the crime unfolded. Hoping to locate possible witnesses, the detectives encounter a diverse assortment of people at the unique encampment, including their mysterious and menacing self-proclaimed mayor, a well-meaning but dangerously ill former social worker turned missionary who has chosen to join the community to help serve their many needs, and an elusive veteran. I empathized with Abbey's anger and felt Sam's unease and discomfort as they tried to do right by the people of the camp, while others seemed oblivious and tried to pull them from investigating those they felt didn't warrant the time and effort. Still, their case progresses quickly, with twists and turns all along the way, making this book an absolutely gripping tale. 

I recommend THE LEAST OF THESE to readers of mysteries and thrillers, especially those with an interest in the plight of the unhoused or a Nashville setting. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.

Snowglobe

by

Soyoung Park

Mesmerizing!

Snowglobe is a young adult dystopian tale by Korean author Soyoung Park, recently translated into English by Joungmin Lee Comfort. It is the first book of a duology, so readers need to be prepared to hold on when all their questions are not answered in this volume. But, with its intriguing premise, engagingly relatable main characters, and nimble execution, Snowglobe is pure entertainment. 

The main character is Jeon Chobahm, a sixteen-year-old twin living in the frigid “open” world with her mother, twin brother, Ongi, and grandmother, who is firmly within the grasp of dementia. Since graduating from school ten months earlier, she and Ongi have been working 10-hour days at the power plant with their mother. 

Chobahm’s dream is to become a director of reality show-styled programming in the domed city of Snowglobe, where it is all created and filmed. She is conflicted when her idol, director Cha Seol, offers her the opportunity to “help” her on her most famous show, Goh Around, by secretly replacing the star, an amazing lookalike named Haeri. With this harsh background and difficult bleakness looming, Chobahm is amazingly hopeful for her future, and it is easy to understand why she agreed to Director Cha’s scheme. Her innocent beliefs are quickly challenged. 

While Chobahm struggles with the ethics of the impersonation, the unsettling dynamics in the Goh family, and the actions and agenda of the intimidating and dangerous Cha Seol, she sinks into her role as Haeri more easily than I would have expected. Her long attention to the show prepares her well. But what happens off-camera is tense and stressful, and Chobahm has no one she can trust. As her masquerade continues, she uncovers startling revelations that the viewers at home are completely unaware of. 

The setting of the domed city of Snowglobe is one of the things that drew me to this story, but with Chobahm’s hectic, supervised life, we only get a narrow glimpse of what it’s like. She’s in a very restricted niche, and her life stays pretty much in that lane except for a couple of wrong moves on her part. We have a much more robust vision of the open world than the physical nature of Snowglobe proper. 

The story is well-told and nicely paced, with some eye-opening twists and turns to keep me glued to its pages. I read almost the entirety of the book in one reading session without even a thought of a break.

I recommend SNOWGLOBE to readers of young adult fiction and dystopian stories. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through TBR and Beyond Book Tours.

Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles

Babs Norman Hollywood Mystery, #1

by

Elizabeth Crowens

When Hollywood went to the dogs…

Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles is the premiere novel in author Elizabeth Crowens’s new historical cozy mystery series, the Babs Norman Hollywood Mysteries. Set in 1940 Hollywood, the story is a smorgasbord of actors from the Golden Age of Film as two novice detectives search for the missing dogs of silver screen royalty. 

Babs Norman is the principal partner in a new detective agency with her best friend and aspiring actor, Guy Brandt. She’s serious and assertive in her efforts to make good as a PI in Tinseltown after her own attempts as an actor fell short. I liked how when Babs overhears Basil Rathbone talking about his missing cocker spaniel, Leo, she is confident and bold enough to approach the film legend and sell her agency’s services. She parlays that success into getting the job of finding Asta, of The Thin Man fame, who has coincidentally also gone missing at around the same time. 

The plot moves quickly from Babs gaining the jobs to following every lead that comes their way. Famous faces and historic Hollywood locations make appearances, with a lot of film trivia and biographical tidbits about the various stars finding their way into the story. Both actors Basil Rathbone and William Powell, known for their portrayals of fictional screen detectives, consult on the mysterious disappearances early on. 

While I enjoyed the cameos, film lore, and historical settings, the story got a tad convoluted, the dialogue was occasionally uneven, and there were a few continuity issues. However, none of this was enough to prevent this book from being a good time. I was very impressed at the amount of research the author had to have done in crafting the story, including so many well-known personalities, the social mores of the era, and fitting it all within the framework of the world political situation of the times. 

I recommend HOUNDS OF THE HOLLYWOOD BASKERVILLES to cozy mystery readers who enjoy a historical setting, especially that of the Golden Age of Hollywood. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.

The Ocean Hugs Hard

by

Eric Avedissian

A compelling tale of mystery, secrets, and death in a seaside tourist town in the 1960s.

The Ocean Hugs Hard by Eric Avedissian is a new historical mystery and suspenseful horror novel that tells the absorbing tale of a young reporter investigating the death of a local beauty queen in a summer seaside tourist town. With its engaging main characters, 1960s setting, and suspenseful twists, the story held my attention completely as the truth slowly came to light. 

Harmon Bass is an intriguing protagonist; he’s a young cub reporter still finding his way in his career and in his life, struggling to become comfortable with his asexual nature. He’s made a first step toward becoming an independent adult by moving out of his childhood home and working as a reporter for his hometown’s paper rather than as an accountant, as his father wants. Though trying to prove himself with this important story (and keep his job), he is genuinely interested in finding justice for the victim, who was his former (and only) girlfriend back when they were in high school together. 

Harmon’s co-writer on this story is June Jensen, a smart reporter who has been relegated to puff pieces and covering local events. She’s struggling to break free of the traditional attitudes of the male-dominated newsroom that limits her success. Likewise, Lyle Morris, the paper’s new African-American photographer, is up against the complacent, entrenched racism of a time when the Civil Rights Movement was just getting legs. 

The author can certainly tell a story and took me places I didn’t expect despite the imagery on the fabulous cover. Didi’s murder occurs off-the-page, and the discovery of her bikini-clad body provides the story’s opening, so Harmon’s investigation starts immediately. The descriptions of people and places are vivid and I felt like I was right there with Harmon every step of the very unpredictable way. The plot takes some surprising twists and turns and kept me fixed to its pages, compelled to keep reading to see how the story would pan out. 

I recommend THE OCEAN HUGS HARD to mystery readers who would enjoy a Twilight Zone twist to their traditional mystery. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through RABT Book Tours and PR.