The Last Train Out of Hell

by

Julie Price Carpenter

An atmospheric setting, engaging characters, fun dialogue, and a puzzling mystery combine to create an entertaining and memorable story.

When a distracted Liz Martin stepped off a curb into the path of a bus, she never expected to find herself on a one-way train trip to Hell, but there she was. And Hell wasn’t at all what she had been led to envision; it was more of an overcrowded, soot-showered, demon-infested version of “Up Top,” all run by the overwhelmed, under-budgeted Manager of Hell named Brian. 

Readers are thrust immediately into the confusion and chaos of the setting as the latest train disgorges Hell’s newest arrivals to the afterlife at Perdition City Station. The freshly disembodied are met with the nightmare of Hell’s woefully inadequate infrastructure and rigid, red-tape-ridden governmental bureaucracy comprised of endless queues and stacks of incomprehensible forms, where the smallest mistake sends the bearer to the back of the line. I love the full spectrum of creatures found there (ranked demons, devils, succubi, etc.) and their demonic names, as well as the inclusion of biblically well-known figures such as Beelzebub and Lilith, and the well-known adjacent entities like “Sam” Azrael. The cute yet hellish business and brand names were also fun (i.e., Dante’s Café, Taco Torchiere, and Ghoulies breakfast cereal). 

A rule-follower by nature, Liz passively accepts her adjudication to Hell but lies awake nights searching her memories of her past for just cause and still coming up clueless. She shares her eternal life in damnation with a personally assigned demon, a catlike creature named Dennis, who upchucks or otherwise evacuates everything he ingests onto her shoes, bed, or underwear drawer. Joining her in perdition (and Perdition City) are two other recent arrivals and neighbors in her apartment building, Ellie and Theo, along with their own tiny tormentors, the little dragon, Greg, who sleeps a good 20 hours per day, and Theo’s troublesome companion, Alberta, a manic marmoset. They, too, are genuinely puzzled that their former lives merited their current situation, and together they question the more Purgatory-like nature of their existence in Perdition City. Their confusion is accompanied by the mystery of the boarded-up ticket counters at Perdition City Station, and the appearance that it wasn’t always the terminus of this Stygian railway. 

On her arrival in Hell, an accidental meeting with the Manager of Hell and a sympathetic comment garners Liz, a former librarian in life, the least coveted position of Brian’s administrative assistant. However, their shared struggles to control the chaos lead to a slow-burn attraction between the two, which was a delight to watch and raised the stakes in Liz’s and her friend’s covert investigation into the history of Hell, the railway, and Satan’s contractual responsibilities. With the implied additional train routes from the station, maybe Perdition City isn’t the final destination for everyone. 

With its vivid, atmospheric setting, well-drawn, engaging, and sympathetic characters, sparkling dialogue, and hopeful ramifications of the mystery of the train, I recommend THE LAST TRAIN OUT OF HELL to readers of humorous fiction and mystery. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

Bazaar

by

Miles Joyner

Exciting and fresh with an unpredictable new young assassin.

BAZAAR by Miles Joyner is a thrilling, unpredictable story of a deadly game of murder for hire. Ultra-skilled executive protection firms are on the alert! A new online, high-stakes app combines gambling with a murder-for-hire bidding system that anyone with the guts can join, and the first hit on the son of a Nigerian diplomat, accomplished in the middle of Washington, D.C., is a tragic success. Now, the fledgling protection firm, Raptor, with founders and siblings Yemi and Karen Uzunma, are in a cat-and-mouse game against a surprising new foe as he goes after their new make-it-or-break-it client: the diplomat himself. 

I enjoyed this book immensely, and I was torn between rooting for the characters on both sides of the target: Raptor and their crew and Aaron Williams, the surprisingly adept young killer. I wanted Karen and Yemi’s group to excel while at the same time hoping for Aaron’s success and a way out of the situation caused by his father’s shocking death at his own hands. 

The plot is fast-paced, with a shocking murder occurring soon after the story begins. I was caught completely off guard by the unexpected opening, and I was hooked for the duration of the tale. The death pool with a twist was riveting and unique, and Aaron Williams is a surprisingly relatable antagonist, displaying a genius and aptitude for the horrific work. His backstory is compelling, and he was easy to get behind, even with his actions being murder. 

I recommend BAZAAR to thriller and mystery readers. 

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

Higher Love

by

Joanne Kukanza Easley

Emotionally evocative and character-driven dive into what makes and takes a family.

Higher Love, a sequel to author Joanne Kukanza Easley’s I’ll Be Seeing You, continues the story of Lauren Eaton, where the results of her past actions suddenly thrust themselves into her present. However, the skillful and steady insertion of background information brought me up to date and prevented me from feeling like I’d missed out. Readers who have not read the previous book will easily be able to read and enjoy this one as a standalone. 

At 62 years of age, Lauren Eaton, with her porcelain skin and vibrant head of mahogany curls, could readily pass for a much younger woman. She absolutely doesn’t look or feel her age, that is until her biological granddaughter shows up on her doorstep looking for her ‘real’ granny. Faced with the evidence of an almost forgotten past, it was like looking into a mirror, and there was no denying the relationship whatsoever. 

Recently orphaned Stephanie Babcock Kingston had run away from her haughty and insular Boston grandmother’s home when threatened with boarding school. It was only after her mother’s death that she discovered that Evelyn Cabot Babcock wasn’t her biological grandmother and had kept the truth from her and her mother their entire lives. Fleeing to Austin and Lauren, she hoped to build a new, fresh life in Texas. 

Told from the dual, alternating points of view of Lauren and Stephanie, the plot is deeply emotional and expressed in such a compelling manner that time seemed to melt away for me. Both Lauren and her granddaughter have a lot of catching up to do, clarifications to make, and trust to build. Both are struggling with their own demons. Lauren is 25 years sober, and readers gain an authentic glimpse into her struggle to maintain sobriety, serving as a poignant reminder that the fight is a lifelong one. Her new-found granddaughter has a recent history of self-harm to overcome. Stephanie is finally able to grieve her father’s earlier passing and her mother’s sudden death from a tragic accident while vacationing in Belize. Together with Lauren’s new husband and truly great guy, Brett, they slowly come to terms with the past, overcome new challenges, and focus on creating a new future as a family. 

With its strong and, I suspect, lasting emotional impact, this story is for readers seeking character-driven tales of tragedy, pain, self-determination, and the healing power of love. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Literary Life Book Campaigns.

Homemaker

Prairie Nightingale Mystery, #1

by

Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare

A Green Bay housewife becomes involved in the investigation of a missing woman from her former mothers' group.

Homemaker is the first book in authors Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare amazing new series, Prairie Nightingale Mysteries, and is one of the most entertaining books I've read this year. Prairie Nightingale notices things, and she knows something is off in the elementary school moms' group she used to be a part of, even before the news that Lisa Ratcliffe was missing. As she talks to the missing woman's closest friends, many of whom were involved in the same multilevel marketing business, Kitty Blue, she starts gathering important pieces of information that, when combined, could be critical to law enforcement in solving the baffling disappearance. Of course, the local FBI agent on the case wants her to back off and leave the investigation to the professionals while showing her a more personal side that could work out to something interesting for her Thursday night date nights. However, they both have access to resources that the other does not, with her having insider knowledge about the missing woman and an uncanny ability to see connections in the clues that others don't. 

Prairie Nightingale is a fun and relatable yet complex character with a unique backstory and an unusual post-divorce, co-parenting situation with her ex-husband. She's smart and witty, and her interactions with Special Agent Foster Rosemare are delightful as long as they are not discussing "his" case. I enjoyed how she developed some remarkably intricate theories about what happened to Lisa based on her observations and interviews with the woman's friends. 

The plot leaps off to a good start with the mystery introduced early in the story. The story unfolds from Prairie's point of view, so readers have full access to her thought processes and motives as he pursues her private inquiries. There are plenty of relatable moments with Prairie, the mother, and Prairie, the newly single woman, to enjoy as she slowly makes her way to the truth behind what happened to Lisa Ratcliffe. 

I recommend HOMEMAKER to readers who enjoy mysteries, cozies, and domestic thrillers.

For this and other book reviews and the occasional GIVEAWAY, visit Boys' Mom Reads!

The Penthouse on Park Avenue

Houses of Crime, #2

by

Jenny Dandy

Another intriguing operation with complex characters in this crime fiction tale set in New York City.

The Penthouse on Park Avenue is the second book in author Jenny Dandy's smoothly delivered and complex New York City-set crime fiction series, Houses of Crime,* and features the return of FBI Special Agent Frank Jankowski and the former homeless and street-wise Ronnie Charles. In this adventure, the two work together to expose the money laundering of a high-society financier on behalf of a dangerous drug cartel. While working to disrupt the cartel's operations, they also search for any word on Frank's runaway, drug-addicted daughter and end up mired in morally compromising situations. 

Under the surveillance and with the assistance of the FBI, Ron gains employment as a butler in the home of wealthy former Wall Street financier John Anthony, whom the FBI has long known directs the money laundering aspects of Mateo Rosas de Flores, the New York head of the Mataderos drug cartel. Her reluctant mission is to gather irrefutable evidence of Anthony's involvement and specific activities. Ronnie is torn between keeping a good position and working with anyone or anything related to illegal drugs. On the other hand, Frank is pushed into participating in compromising activities as he works a relationship with a drug dealer with a connection to his missing daughter. He's morally tested when he's thrown into situations he's obligated to stop. 

The author's storytelling is absorbing, and readers who have not read the previous book in the series will be able to pick up enough backstory to understand and enjoy this second novel as a standalone. I recommend THE PENTHOUSE ON PARK AVENUE to readers of crime fiction, mysteries, or thrillers. 

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

*See my review of Book One in the Houses of Crime series, The Brownstone on 3. 83rd, HERE!