When You Are Mine

Finished October 10

When You Are Mine by Michael Robotham

This tense, fast-moving novel takes place in London, where Philomena (Phil) McCarthy is an officer of the Metropolitan Police. She is also the only child of a man known to be the leader in a family of criminals. She had not realized that growing up, but has estranged herself from her father as an adult. A significant birthday is coming up for him, and Phil's stepmother has been trying very hard to get her to come to the birthday party.

In the course of her job, Phil attends an apartment after a neighbour calls to report a domestic. She finds a young woman, Tempe, with obvious signs of trauma, and a man who threatens her and uses his own police standing to try to get her to back off. When she forges ahead, she finds herself ostracized, put on desk duty, with her camera footage taken and not uploaded as would be standard. As she befriends Tempe, she finds her hard to disengage from.

Phil is living with her partner Henry who is divorced and has a young son, Archie. They are planning to be married soon, but are having difficulty finding a venue. Tempe proves resourceful in not only getting a venue, but assisting with all the other wedding tasks. She calls herself a wedding planned, but doesn't seem to have any online footprint. Meanwhile, Tempe's former partner, Darren Goodall, is a decorated police officer, one who was deemed a hero in a previous major police incident. He is also married with two young children. 

As Tempe learns more about networks within the police force working against her, and researches more about Darren's past, she finds that her father's connections may prove useful to her. 

This is a novel which will have you worried for the main character, tense about the situations that she gets herself into, and dismayed at the havoc it takes on her personal and professional life. A book that will have you in his clutches more and more as you get into it. 

Inside the Shadow City

Finished July 31

Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller 

This is the first book in a series set around a tween/teen group of girls in New York City. The main character is Ananka Fishbein, a schoolgirl and only child who goes to a private school in the city. One day, looking out her window early in the morning she sees a sinkhole developing in the park across the street and spots a girl her own age there. She rushes out and ventures into the hole, discovering a room underground and a clue that leads her to a hidden trapdoor that leads to a much lower set of rooms that seems to be part of an underground town. 

She soon spots the same girl in her class at school, despite never noticing her before, and thus begins her friendship with the unusual Kiki Strike. 

She gets drawn into a controversy between Kiki and another girl in her school, as well as into a group of girls from around the city who form a squad that explores the underground city using their combination of skills to learn about this hidden world, deal with others who learn of it, and find out Kiki's own secrets. 

I liked the independent spirits of the various girls in the squad, and how their friendship changed and grew over time. Ananka developed leadership skills during the course of the novel, and learned to recognize her own skills and their value. It was an interesting mystery as well, with a few twists and turns in the plot. 

An enjoyable read that would offer appeal to older children and teens. 

I Will Ruin You

Finished July 22

I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay

This novel has lots of twist and turn that will keep you guessing. High school English teacher Richard Boyle looks out his classroom window one day and sees a man with what looks like explosives strapped to him approaching the school. He leaves the classroom abruptly, telling his students briefly to alert authorities and protect themselves and runs to try to intercept the man. He is able to avert a major tragedy, but recognizes that there is still a tragedy, and a motivation that the former student had to act the way he did. 

Unbeknownst to him, his appearance on the news triggers another situation, as he is approached by a man who tries to blackmail him based on supposed acts he did years before. 

As one would expect, this has a big impact on Richard, both in terms of thinking of ways to avert the situation or deal with it, and in terms of what this new accusation might say in terms of the actions of the first man in terms of validation. 

Richard's wife Bonnie, a principal at an elementary school is also dealing with a tragedy, the loss of the mother of one of her students. Bonnie's sister Marta, a police officer was involved with the case of the mother's death, and her investigations lead her towards a drug ring. 

As the two cases begin to connect, all involved will find themselves trying to protect those they care about as well as finding the truth. 

This is a novel that took a while to get me hooked, but that did engage me, both with the intriguing plot, and with the characters. 

Get Back Jack

Finished March 2

Get Back Jack by Diane Capri

This is the second novel in the series Hunt for Reacher, where FBI agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar are on an off-the-books case to discover more about Jack Reacher as part of a supposed background check. Here, there are trying to talk to the surviving members of his core team from his army days. There aren't a lot of them left, and they find that suspicious in and of itself. When they arrive at the office of one of them and find a crime scene being processed, they get worried about the remaining members of the team. 

This book features one of my favourite recurring characters from the Reacher novels, Frances Neagley, a woman that he often relies on for assistance, but who also has her own issues. 

We actually get a deeper glimpse into her life here, and also find that Otto and Gaspar encounter move danger than they expected. When women and children connected to Reacher are kidnapped as leverage against some of the members of Reacher's team, Otto and Gaspar find themselves teaming up with Neagley and learning a little more about Reacher. 

I enjoyed how this book, brought in characters from Child's books, but let us see a different aspect of them. I'm enjoying this series. 

The Clinic

Finished February 21

The Clinic by Cate Quinn

This suspense thriller mostly takes place at a remote luxury rehab centre on the Oregon coast. Haley, an famous singer, is a patient there and we see her as the novel begins going into an area that she's not supposed to be in.

The novel then jumps to her sister Meg. Meg works at a casino in Las Vegas, where she is part of the investigative team looking for people trying to cheat the system and for other types of crimes. Meg was caught a few years back by some of the bad guys and suffered an injury that she got opioids for and now she is a functioning addict. She's already used other substances to deal with childhood trauma that she hasn't dealt with, and has recurring nightmares that include a man in a fedora and playing cards. 

She'd been close to Haley until Haley left home suddenly, leaving Meg with their mentally unstable mother. 

When Meg gets the news that Haley has died at the rehab centre, and hears rumours of suicide, she is at first very upset, then decides to enter the centre herself as a guest to try to find out what really happened to Haley. She is sure that Haley would never commit suicide. 

There is a second point of view here as well, that of the manager of the rehab centre, Cara, who hasn't been there long. Cara has a background in the hotel industry, where she worked until she got caught up in a scandal. As Cara gradually learns what is going on, partly from the doctor there, Max, and partly from her own investigations, we learn about things from a different angle. 

The other guests at the centre are as famous as Haley was, actors and singers, all there for various addictions. The head of the centre is a man from Switzerland with his own sketchy past, and as the local police also show an interest after the death of Haley, we find some other centre staff may have troublesome connections as well. 

This is a story of both psychological suspense and some physical suspense as well. It has lots of twists and turns and unexpected events that keep you guessing on things right to the end. None of the characters are particularly likeable, even though you might think are. 

The author has her own experiences in rehab, and says that this is her first novel that she's written sober. 

The Dragon Head of Hong Kong

Finished February 9

The Dragon Head of Hong Kong by Ian Hamilton

This novella is a prequel to the Ava Lee series and shows us how Ava got started on her atypical forensic accounting career, and how she met Uncle. 

When Ava is asked by her mother to help the son of one of her mother's friends, she is unsure that she will be able to help. She agrees to go to Hong Kong to find the man that her client has been shipping goods to, in the hopes that she will be able to get him to pay all the overdue invoices that have put her client in financial trouble. 

Ava is not expecting the violence that she encounters on her case, but she is prepared to deal with it. Both her forensic accounting skills and her martial arts training are useful on this job. 

I enjoyed seeing her trying to find her way in this culture that she was unfamiliar with, and taking charge with a firm hand, while remaining curious and open to learn. 

An enlightening and entertaining read. 

The Red Pole of Macau

Finished February 5

The Red Pole of Macau by Ian Hamilton

This is the fourth book in the Ava Lee series. I like this series, but hadn't been keeping up with it after the first few books. Here, Ava has recently met her oldest half-brother, Michael, when he calls on her for assistance. Michael and his business partner Simon run a chain of noodle restaurants and recently made an investment that involved a share of a real estate development where they would locate a shop. But things haven't been moving along at all, and they just want their money back. 

Ava can see the big picture here once she knows more about the situation, and can see how a failure would impact not just Michael and Simon, but also Ava's father and the entire family. 

Macau is somewhere that Ava hasn't visited in years and the changes there are dramatic. When she accompanies Michael and Simon to meet the men behind the project, she finds they are more dangerous adversaries than she imagined, and the whole situation is something beyond what she normally would deal with. Even her partner Uncle has reservations. 

Given the family considerations, Ava feels she must move forward, but this is a foray that requires connections she doesn't have. When a new friend offers to help, Ava finds herself making new connections and relationships as well. 

I liked the strong female characters here, not only Ava, but also May Ling Wong and Michael's girlfriend Amanda Yee. I also liked seeing more into the backgrounds of Uncle's side of the partnership, including the men who work for him, either directly or from time to time. 

The book also details how the old Hong Kong triads were structured and what roles the different members played. This plays into the plot in a big way, and gives a sense how the dismantling of a system like this sometimes results in unexpectedly dangerous men who can't be controlled. 

We also get a better sense of Ava's family dynamics. 

A very enlightening addition to the series on many fronts. 

Two previous series reads that somehow got missed: Blue Moon by Lee Child and The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley

While following up on some of the series I read, I noticed gaps for two them where I seemed to have missed a book. I've taken them out of the library, but as soon as I started reading them I remembered them. I've searched all my notes and don't seem to have written reviews, which is very odd for me. They both date from the same time period, published in late 2019 read either in late 2019 or early 2020 and I guess that I missed them in the busyness of other things at the time. So here they are, now.

Blue Moon by Lee Child, read by Scott Brick

This is the 24th book in the series and once it again it begins with Reacher on a Greyhound bus in the middle of America. He assists an older man after the man is attacked in the street after exiting the bus, and one thing leads to another as he first helps him to the place where the payment the older man needs to do is to take place, and later to his home. The man and his wife are worried about their daughter whose story unfolds for him. He soon finds himself impersonating the old man, and getting between the Ukrainian and Albanian gangs who run the town and are vying for expansion under the new police commissioner in the small city. 

As each gang makes moves and Reacher makes some to protect himself and the older couple, there is luck that happens, as they say, once in a blue moon. Reacher's investigations lead him into the world of paid healthcare in the U.S., IT startups successes and failures, money trails and extortion rings. 

This is classic Jack Reacher, satisfying for the little guy, with the bad guys in deep trouble. 

The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley

This is the 10th book in the Flavia de Luce series. Her oldest sister Ophelia is getting married as the book opens, but there's a shocking item in the wedding cake when she slices it. Flavia is quick on her feet and manages to take the item while the focus is on Ophelia's hysterics. 

Flavia has also teamed up with her father's valet, Dogger, as a private investigation firm. The wedding discovery turns out to be the start of their first case, leading them to a special railway for the dead, a visit from missionaries, and a client who dies before the case is resolved. 

Dogger serves as a guide for Flavia's enthusiasm, putting her on the right track, and encouraging her good ideas. To their clients and the police they present a team that can put things together faster than the officials can. 

This isn't my favourite of the series, but it does offer some interesting scenes, and cousin Undine plays a larger role than in earlier books. 

The Chase

Finished August 31

The Chase by DiAnn Mills

This FBI thriller has two main characters.

Kariss Walker is a former television journalist turned novelist. She's written several successful women's fiction novels, but dreams of writing about her true passion, finding justice for those unable to do so themselves. She is haunted by an experience in her past where she was unable to protect someone vulnerable. One case she covered as a journalist was of a young girl, whose body was found, malnourished near an apartment complex. The girl's identity was never determined. This is the case that she plans to base her novel on.

Kariss has gained access to follow an FBI agent to get background information on the world she plans to write about. The agent is Tigo Harris. He has many years of experience, including undercover work, and is currently involved in a case involving gangs smuggling drugs and guns. 

When Kariss is able to get the case reopened, she and the FBI find new evidence that points to the child's identity, and perhaps to new crimes. 

Tigo is very close to his mother, who is dying from a cancer, and this element impacts how he lives his life and sets his priorities. 

Kariss makes a lot of questionable decisions putting her own safety into jeopardy. 

Both characters have families who are strong church goers, but both have distanced themselves from religion. The Christian element in this book is subtle until the end, when it suddenly becomes more evident. 

What Happened to the Bennetts

Finished May 16

What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline

This novel opens with a family driving home after a successful lacrosse game for the daughter Allison. There is a vehicle following too closely, but when given the opportunity to pass it doesn't until, all of a sudden it does and the men in it have pulled guns on the family and forced them out of the vehicle. Jason, the father, is both shocked and worried for his family, especially when one of them seems to hone in on Allison. When the family dog, Moonie, makes a sudden move, things deteriorate further, and shots are fired. A car approaches from behind and the family is left to pick up the pieces. 

After the police and hospital the family, now home, finds them visited in the wee hours by the FBI. They are told that the carjackers were members of an organized crime group, active in drug trafficking in the region, and that their family is now a target of this group. 

They are given little time to grab possessions and brought to a safe house in Delaware, remote and isolated. They find that the men targeting them have gone further, taking aim at Jason's court reporting service business, as well as his wife Lucinda's photography business. The son, Ethan, is in a bad place too, blaming himself for not holding the dog Moonie more tightly and thus somehow being the cause of all their woes. 

Jason talks with one of the men minding them, Dom, and shares his concerns while mining for data on the case and the likelihood of capture of the men. As he does, he moves from uncertainty, to trust, and back again. When he finds information that doesn't seem to match what the family is being told, he decides that the only one he can truly trust is himself, and he makes a plan to dig deeper into the motivations of everyone involved and get at the real truth behind their situation. 

I enjoyed the character of Jason, an intelligent man, who has used his skills to start his own business, and who is close to his family, involved in his children's lives. I also enjoyed seeing Ethan work through some of his issues and grow during the course of the book. Many of the other characters, from Dom, to Flossie the trucker were well drawn and interesting and brought us into other ways of living, other worlds of experience. 

I read this book quickly, eager to learn what happened and hope that this family would come through this ordeal. A great page-turner. 

Ragged Lake

Finished April 30

Ragged Lake by Ron Corbett

Taking place in a fiction place up in the Territories in northern Canada, this book is the first in a series featuring detective Frank Yakabuski. Frank is from the north, but went away for a while and spent some time doing undercover work related to motorcycle gangs in Montreal. He's been back in the north a few years and is considered a seasoned officer. 

Ragged Lake is very remote, with no roads in or out and only a weekly train service, mostly for supplies to a fishing and hunting camp located there. It was once a more bustling place, with a paper plants and a variety of other small businesses that supported the people that worked there. 

When a young tree-marker working in the area checks out a cabin built from scraps, he finds murder victims and immediately heads to the resort to report it using their phone. 

Frank is sent out with a couple of guys to assist with the investigation. It is winter and with the train not scheduled for a few days, he and his officers travel via the rail line by snowmobile, a trip that takes more than one day. 

They find that the report is accurate and that they have a crime on their hands, but there are more questions that come to Frank. Why are these people in the cabin there? Why have the chosen this place to build a home in? Who can he trust? are some of them. 

As we, alongside Frank and in a narrative that is separate and told partly through a written record, discover the connection of these people to this place and its history, the story of the indigenous people who have lived in the area, 

We get a sense of Frank and his character and his past in this introduction to the series. We also get a strong sense of one of the victims here, a young indigenous woman who has had bad luck again and again despite her own strength. 

This made me want to read more of this series. 

A Perfect Escape

Finished September 18

A Perfect Escape by M.L. Jameson

Megan Thomas knew soon after she got married that she'd made a mistake, but it took years for her to figure out how to leave. Megan married a man who seemed to love her, but her really wanted to control her. Now he is planning a political career and she knows that she has to leave as his threats are getting more serious and his violence is escalating. 

She's found another woman in his circle willing to help her, and chosen her time carefully. She knows that she has to leave Chicago as he has too many eyes there. Megan thought about going to the home she grew up in, one she inherited when her grandmother died, but fears it is too obvious, so she runs southeast instead. She rents a house in the off-season on the Carolina coast and begins more long-term plans.

But when the owner of the house shows up unexpectedly, both Megan and him find themselves with feelings that they hadn't planned for.

Smyth Parker has also chosen badly in marriage. He has let the responsibilities he inherited be taken on by others and and let others believe he is someone he is not. He doesn't need more complications in his life, and Megan is definitely a complication. But he can see that she is running from something, and he can't shake the feeling of wanting to protect her. 

As they both gradually open up to each other, they must also deal with their pasts rather than running from them. 

This novel has some different plot lines, and characters that engaged with me. I found myself easily caught up in the story, and hoping for an end that boded a better future. There is lots going on, and it kept me totally engaged. 

Parallel Lines

Finished October 29

Parallel Lines by Steven Savile

This suspense novel has a unique plot. Adam Shaw is dying of ALS, and his is worried about what will happen to his eleven-year-old son Jake when he can no longer care for him. Jake has Down's syndrome and Adam's wife Lily has predeceased him. Adam works for an insurance company and calculates numbers for a living, and he has determined that he needs 2.5 million dollars to ensure Jake is cared for. Adam can see no way of getting this outside of a unique way of robbing a bank, and so armed with a gun for show, he puts his plan in motion. 

The branch of the bank he chooses is a small one, and he's visited a couple of times before to get the lay of the land, but now that he has put his plan in motion, the other people in the bank and those connected to them also play a role and he can't predict their actions. There are two customers in the bank, a man and a woman, one of whom tries to interfere with his plans. The bank manager has issues and worries that go beyond the current situation. Of the four tellers, one is a widow with a secret friend and a regret, one is just out of a relationship and wonders about her future, one has a strong moral center, and one has a past that makes her a threat. The loan officer has recently had a series of losses in her life and during the robbery has a revelation that is unexpectedly hopeful. The security guard has a past as well, one that feeds directly into the current situation. 

Adam's own body is also unreliable, even with his medications, and he must rely on these strangers in ways he never expected. 

I read this book in one sitting, needing to know what happened to each character

Isn't It Bromantic?

Finished September 23

Isn't It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

This is the fourth book in this series and we're finally seeing more about a man who appeared in the first novel, Russian hockey player Vlad Konnikov. Then we knew him as a man with a bad gastrointestinal issue and a penchant for cheese. No one wanted to use a bathroom after him, but he was emotive and joined into book club activities with enthusiasm.  

In the third book we caught a glimpse of his beautiful wife Elena Konnikova, a journalism student at an American university and his childhood friend. 

Elena practically grew up with Vlad, after losing her mother at the age of nine and with her journalist father travelling all the time. As they came into adulthood they developed feelings for each other, but had difficulty expressing them.

When Vlad made it into the NHL, he proposed to Elena, partly to get her out of Russia, where she had recently lost her father when he disappeared working on a story about organized crime. She quickly agreed, but when she arrived in the U.S., she decided to take a degree in journalism, following in her family's footsteps, so they didn't spend much time together.

As this story begins, Elena is nearly done her degree and Vlad had just had a bad injury during a game. When his team representative contacts her to come, she goes immediately. She knows how much she owes Vlad, and wants to ensure that he has what he needs, even though the last time she saw him, six months ago, she told him she wanted to end the marriage.

As the two meet again, they are awkward with each other, working at cross purposes, neither of them communicating what is in their hearts.

Vlad, however, has the Bromance Book Club, and they pitch in to remind him of what he has learned in the club, and to help him in a surprise endeavour of his own.

Elena discovers a group of women in Vlad's neighbourhood who he has been using as a sounding board, as well as the group of wives and girlfriends of the Bromance book club, and is reminded of her own lack of close friends outside of her husband. Elena also has a secret project, one that has driven her for years and that she isn't about to let go. 

As both of their projects pull them toward and away from each other, they find themselves opening up to each other in new ways. 

This is another great read in the series, with depth as well as humour. We see familiar characters as well as some new additions and can see other relationships on the horizon. A fun read.

The Sentinel

Finished July 11

The Sentinel by Lee Child and Andrew Child

This episode of the Jack Reacher novels takes us briefly to Nashville, and then to a small town a ways north of the city. When Reacher arrives in Nashville, he looks for a few things, including music, and finds himself in a bar with little ambience, but with musicians who sound good to him. Unfortunately, they are just finishing up, and when he leaves he encounters them outside and finds himself in a position to assist them. 

A few days later, he is on the road and gets picked up by someone who needs help finding his way. Reacher decides to go on with him to the destination, and finds himself in this town that has recently been a target of ransomware. The IT manager, Rutherford, has been fired despite him being the one warning his bosses and trying to guard against this situation. The two men meet when Reacher prevents something happening to Rutherford, and they both get arrested. When they join forces to try to figure out why Rutherford is targeted, and start digging deeper, they find themself making a few new aquaintances.

As often happens, there is more than one group of bad guys, and somethings they cross over between groups. 

This is an interesting look a topic that is definitely a current event at publication time and still a topic of much discussion. As always, Reacher is thoughtful, empathetic to those in a bad situation, and aware of the bigger picture. 

A good read.

Death of an Addict

Finished August 20
Death of an Addict by M.C. Beaton

This book is part of the Hamish Macbeth series. Hamish is a policeman in the small village of Lochdubh, responsible for a large area of the country around it. The nearest big town, and where he reports into, is Strathbane. Hamish has done well for himself, and turned down promotions several times as he likes where he lives and what he does.
Here, Hamish goes to see a crofter Parry McSporran that he knows is renting out cabins to see how it is going. Two of the cabins are on long lets, one to a young English woman environmentalist Felicity Maundy, and one to a young man Tommy Jarrett who is working on a book. The latter's name sounds familiar and Parry has him do a check to see if the young man has a record. He does have one for possession of drugs, and Hamish goes to talk to him and decides Tommy is being honest when he claims he is clean now.
The day after Hamish visits, Tommy is found dead, with suspicion of an overdose. This doesn't sit right with Hamish and he decides to dig a little, against the wishes of his superiors. His digging leads him to the drug world and has him going undercover with a young female officer, who is superior to him in rank.
As usual, Hamish is quite a character, a man who pays attention to details, but who is a bit naive at times. He gets in over his head a couple of times here, but he learns a lot and uncovers some criminal activity. Blair, the man he reports to in Strathbane is on leave as the whole thing begins and isn't pleased when he returns to discover Hamish is impressing their superiors once again.
As always I enjoy this series and Hamish.

The Ignorance of Blood

Finished August 8
The Ignorance of Blood by Robert Wilson

This is the last book in a series of four books featuring Javier Falcon of Seville, Spain. Javier is a busy man, involved in many things. He is an inspector with the local police, but also has ties to the intelligence community and is running a spy for them, a man he has become close friends with.
As the book opens a Russian mobster is switching from one mob to another, taking money and information with him, when he is killed in a freak accident. Falcon gets called to the scene and overseas the transfer of the information and cash to a secure location.
He has been working on a case involving a local judge who is in jail for killing his wife, who also happens to be Falcon's ex-wife. This is also tied to a construction case, where a bomb was set at a site. Falcon isn't sure of the judge's guilt, and is looking at a woman that he was having an affair with, a woman who definitely is hiding something. As he tries to trace back the woman and who she has had contact with, and put some pressure on her, things get ugly, and there seems to be government connections involved.
Meanwhile the man he is running as a spy is having a crisis that he goes to Falcon for assistance on, and Falcon wants to help but feels out of his depth.
And then the youngest son of the woman Falcon has fallen in love with is kidnapped, and he is sure that it is to put pressure on him.
So many storylines, and so much happening emotionally for Falcon as well. He is an upright and honest guy, at least mostly. And when he steps over a line, he doesn't try to blame anyone else for it. He has a good team of officers, ones that work together and are really committed to their work. But for him, when the situation became personal, he changed his feelings about things.
I really liked Falcon, and the strong woman he is in a relationship with. I will look at the earlier books in this series to get more on these characters.

The Dead of Winter

Finished May 27
The Dead of Winter by Rennie Airth

This book is part of a series featuring retired London policeman John Madden. Here, it is World War II, and a young Polish refugee, working as a land girl goes up to London to visit her aunt. But she is murdered before she can get there, and in a very quick and professional manner. Nothing seems to have been stolen from her, and she hasn't been violated, so what is behind it?
The farm that she worked on was owned by John Madden and his wife Helen, and so he gets drawn into the story. Rosa was a quiet girl who played the piano beautifully and the Maddens had been trying to draw her out about her past, hoping to ease her sadness. But they really know very little about her other than that she escaped first to France before coming to England.
As they follow the trail and look for more clues, more people die, and they realize that Rosa was killed for what happened sometime in the past.
This is a story of greed, of a cold-blooded killer, and of extreme danger, all occurring in the height of a London winter, just a Christmas is approaching.
I love this series, and really liked the way the plot unfolded here.

Under a Silent Moon

Finished May 24
Under a Silent Moon by Elizabeth Haynes

This is the first book in a series featuring DCI Louisa Smith. The author is police intelligence analyst and she brings that viewpoint to the book, using various pieces of documentation to show the casework that is happening here, which brought a really interesting and novel aspect to the book.
The case here is Louisa's first as the commanding officer, and she is determined to do it right. She is disappointed in the DI assigned to her team, a man that she has a past with and who doesn't always act in the most professional manner. One of the key players on her team is Jason, the analyst who is the one that puts together the various bits and pieces of information to show patterns and timelines. He is Canadian which was of natural interest to me, but his nationality isn't a big part of the story. Louisa's team is made up of a number of interesting people, and we get only glimpses of most of them. I look forward to more books in the series showing them in more depth.
The case here is of a young woman found murdered in her home. She was working on a horse farm and lived in a cottage on the grounds. Her employer discovered her body and called the police. There are a lot of things going on around this young woman, who led a very open sexual life, with multiple partners and a good deal of experimentation. Many of her past and present lovers are looked at here, including the artist daughter of her employer. One of her employers is also involved in organized crime and has been the subject of many an investigation but never convicted. He is an obvious suspect as well, but the team is also keeping an eye out for evidence to do with his broader activities.
Another woman died the same night as the murder, seemingly in an act of suicide, with her car found upside down in a quarry nearby. She lived with her husband just across the road from the farm, and early in the case the team is able to make a connection to the young woman.
I really enjoyed seeing this case unfold, the mistakes that were made, the way that Louisa wasn't jumping at the obvious but trusting her instincts that more was happening here. A good read.

Do Not Become Alarmed

Finished April 4
Do Not Become Alarmed by Maile Meloy, read by the author.

This book has a lot going on, and more depth than I first thought. Liv and Nora are cousins who have always been close. Liv, a director, introduced Nora, a teacher, to her husband when she had a party that included some of the people involved in one of her films, Raymond is an actor who's had a decent amount of success, allowing Nora to stay at home with their young children, Marcus, eleven and June, six. He's also black, so the kids are mixed race.
Nora had a difficult relationship with her mother, who has died recently, and Liv suggested that the two families, including Liv's husband Ben, and childredn Penny, eleven and Sebastian, eight. take a cruise for the holiday season instead. The cruise leaves from the California coast and goes down the coast of Mexico and Central America.
On board they meet an Argentinian couple that they become friendly with. The couple has two teenage children, sixteen and fourteen.
Mostly they all stay on board the ship and enjoy the amenities, with the adults in particular enjoying the ability to check the kids into the Kids' Club and do their own thing. But as they reach a country that Liv regards as relatively safe, (unnamed, but evidently Costa Rica) they look at doing one of the shore excursions. Liv suggests zip-lining at a location that also has animals, but then the Argentinian man invites the guys for golf with a guy he knows that lives there. So the three women and the kids go on the excursion, an accident causes them to be diverted, the woman and the guide become distracted, and the kids disappear.
The story is told from multiple points of view, including both adults and children. So while the reader knows what is happening with the kids, the parents do not, and always seem to be a step behind what is going on.
There is also a side story of a young Colombian girl Noemi, who is being taken by her uncle from her home with her grandmother to her parents who are in New York illegally.
This is a story of many things, from white privilege to organized crime to migrants. Some of the characters are definitely unlikable, such as Penny, while others have more complex personalities. I liked Marcus quite a bit. I enjoyed the read and the ideas here.