police procedural

Review: The Witch Hunter (Jessica Niemi #1) by Max Seeck

~ megs14malloy

The Witch Hunter (Jessica Niemi, #1)The Witch Hunter by Max Seeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

This was really good. I enjoyed it. I read the 4th-book in the series first, and then was intrigued enough to want to go back and read them all. That’s a good sign.

Jessica Niemi is an intriguing protagonist with a complex past. I knew that from the 4th-book, but this really filled in a lot of the details. Wow. She’s been through a lot, and for reasons I won’t get into here, needs to hide a lot of it from her friends and coworkers.

This mystery was cool as well. It starts when the murders in a popular author’s books start happening in real life. They seem to be random, but Niemi and the other other investigators know there has to be a connection.

I was wowed by the connection too once it was revealed. I could have never predicted it and the ties to Jessica and her life were definitely disturbing. I’m really wanting to continue with this series and have requested my library get copies of the 2nd and 3rd book.

Here’s hoping!

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Review: Other People’s Houses (DC Morgan #3) by Clare Mackintosh

~ megs14malloy

Other People's Houses: A Novel (DC Morgan, Book 3)Other People’s Houses: A Novel by Clare Mackintosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Other People’s Houses is the 3rd-installment in the DC Morgan series by Clare Mackintosh. This is a Police Procedural Mystery series starring one of my current favorite detectives, DC Ffion Morgan.

I have really enjoyed the previous novels, and this latest in the series didn’t disappoint for a moment. I loved being back with Ffion and tackling another head-scratching case.

The mystery revolves around a luxurious, exclusive community known as The Hill. It’s the type of neighborhood many would desire to live in for it’s comfort and safety.

It seems that The Hill is now a target though, as some of the homes have been burglarized. DS Leo Brady, who Readers will recall from the previous books, believes that the criminal is looking for something in particular.

At the same time all of this has started to go down, across the lake from The Hill, DC Morgan is called to investigate after an estate agent’s lifeless body is recovered from the water. It’s clear she died under nefarious circumstances, but the whodunit and why are unclear.

As the two cases collide, Ffion and Leo end up digging deep into the lives of people who would prefer to keep their secrets just that, but it’s hard to solve the cases without the info. Therefore, against The Hill resident’s wishes, individual comforts will finally need to be sacrificed.

How is it all connected, and will our detective duo be able to find the culprit before anyone else loses any property, or worse, their life?

As with the other installments in this series, I flew through this and was completely engaged the whole time. As mentioned above, I do love Ffion and the backstory that Mackintosh has created for her.

I also enjoy her relationship with Leo and the strength of their partnership. They work very well together and it’s always fun seeing them be collaborative with their investigations. Ffion’s rescue dog, Dave, is back again as well and plays a big role in this story.

This mystery had a lot of moving parts, and I found it all very intriguing. The Hill was a fun backdrop for the investigation, as both Leo and Ffion were very much outsiders from that world. It was filled with juicy drama that I was eating up.

We also had some more forward progress in Ffion’s personal life, which I’m fully invested in at this point. I feel like I’ve really come to care for her as a character and I definitely want her to find happiness and fulfillment outside of her job.

I’m not sure how long this series is slated to be, but it seems like we’ll at least be getting a 4th-book. I’m certainly hoping so. There are so many great aspects to these books, and the combination of them all together, the fantastic characters, beautiful setting and always intriguing mysteries, sets this series apart for me.

I would definitely recommend this to any Reader who enjoys a Police Procedural Mystery. The audiobooks are also fantastic, and if you have access to them, are a great option for taking in this series.

Thank you to the publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark and Highbridge Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I love this series and hope it continues on for a long, long time. I’ll be ready for every one!

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Review: The Bloody Brick Road by Maude Royer

~ megs14malloy

The Bloody Brick Road: A Wizard of Oz Retelling (Volume 1)The Bloody Brick Road: A Wizard of Oz Retelling by Maude Royer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I feel robbed. I wanted a bloody and brutal Wizard of Oz retelling; thinking Slasher Horror, or something equally exciting and got nothing of the sort.

Giving a character the name Dorothy and incorporating red shoes, does not a Wizard of Oz retelling make. At the end of the day, this story felt like it was searching for an identity and required further edits.

The 1st-sentence of the Publisher’s synopsis I read states, ‘In this wildly creative, horror-soaked reimagining of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, nothing is as it seems in Dorothy’s dystopian nightmare.‘

Whoever wrote this, you lie. 1. This isn’t wildly-creative. 2. This is hardly a reimagining of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. 3. This doesn’t feel dystopian at all.

Things you got right: 1. It’s a nightmare.

I’m not going to drag this out. It wasn’t for me. I’m sad I wasted 6-hours reading it, but am happy to be moving on. If it was going to go the Extreme Horror route, which it seemed it wanted to take due to the graphic fetish elements, it needed to lean much further in to get there.

The sad part is, there were inklings of a solid Serial Killer Police Procedural in here, but mashing it together with the other elements, it just didn’t work. It needed to be one or the other, or perhaps better blended than it was.

Overall, a very uneven read, nothing like what I was pitched. The dialogue was forced and laughable, and the graphic sexual elements felt absolutely ridiculous in this story.

Thank you to Gallery Books for the copy.

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Review: No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams

~ megs14malloy

No Rest for the Wicked: A NovelNo Rest for the Wicked: A Novel by Rachel Louise Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Almost 20-years ago, Dolores Hawthorne fled her hometown of Little Horton, Wisconsin. She attended college, worked hard, and became a successful forensic pathologist.

She never planned to go back, until she gets a phone call from the FBI, telling her that her father, Little Horton’s former mayor turned US Senator, has gone missing under mysterious circumstances.

In spite of everything, Dolores cares for her father and returns to help in the investigation in any way she can.

Her reunion with her remaining family and the town is mixed, but before long, she’s coming to grips with her past and aiding the FBI with the search.

Other startling occurrences hit the town hard and it becomes clear, something sinister is haunting Little Horton this Halloween season.

Confession time. When I was offered an ARC of this book, I took one look at the cover, read the title, and thought, yes, absolutely, yes. It just looked like something I would enjoy, and luckily, that was true.

However, I had no clue what it was about, but made certain assumptions, and they were all wrong. I actually Buddy Read this with a friend and we both commented quickly that we both assumed it was YA, which it’s clearly not.

If you read the synopsis, unlike me, you’ll have no problem understanding that, but I just felt like the cover, though one of the most gorgeous covers that I’ve set my eyes on lately, really doesn’t portray the feel that I took from this Adult Mystery/Thriller novel.

With this out of the way, my head scratching at the cover art choice really has nothing to do with the book, or the story. I really enjoyed the twisted nature of this and all the dark small town drama. It was captivating and also contained one of my favorite tropes.

I absolutely adore when an MC returns to their hometown, after a number of years away, and ends up digging into some sort of mystery from their past. It’s even better when there are past and present mysteries intertwined, and that’s exactly what Adams delivered here.

It was interesting watching Dolores reintroduce herself to the home she left behind. The interactions among her family were interesting, and I liked how we learned about the past via various timeline/perspective shifts.

We also get a front row seat to the investigation into her father’s disappearance, as well as the other incidents happening around town.

Little Horton was a fun setting. It’s a self-proclaimed Halloween town, so they really lean into the holiday. It gave a lovely, moody backdrop to our overriding mysteries.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this. It was intriguing and fast-paced. I was surprised by it in many ways, and look forward to reading more from this author. I actually would love another book with Dolores as a main character. I grew very fond of her over the course of the story.

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

Everything from the tone, setting and characters, to the mystery itself, was engaging for me. Rachel Louise Adams is definitely an author I’ll be reading more from the future!

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Review: The Wolf Tree by Laura McCluskey

~ megs14malloy

The Wolf TreeThe Wolf Tree by Laura McCluskey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

The Wolf Tree is an Adult Mystery novel set on a remote Scottish island. Late last year, I saw a few of my trusted book friends reviewing this one quite favorably.

As is my custom, I was immediately filled with uncontrollable FOMO, so I sought out a copy. Then as is also my custom, I let it sit on my unread shelf for months and months and months.

Recently, I finally decided to give it a go, wanting a strong Police Procedural Mystery full of atmosphere and intrigue. Oh baby, did I get what I wanted.

This story follows George Lennox, and her partner, Richie Stewart, who’re embarking on their first big detective assignment since George suffered a terrifying accident on the job that left her with a serious head injury.

The powers that be have finally decided that George is ready to get back out there, and she and Richie are sent to Eilean Eadar, a remote windswept rock, best known for the unsolved mystery of the lighthouse keepers who vanished from there back in 1919.

The small community who lives on the island, easily more sheep than people, are used to self-sufficiency. They live a remote and rugged life and are used to looking after one another, through good times and bad.

George and Richie are sent there to investigate after a young man, Alan, is found dead at the base of the lighthouse. The islanders, led by a ubiquitous priest, Father Ross, seem determined to thwart the DIs’ investigation. The local story is Alan took his own life, but is that really what happened?

Due to it’s remote location, the detectives are forced to stay on the island for the duration of their investigation. The more they interact with the locals and learn about their culture and history, the more George becomes convinced that something is seriously off here.

I had so much fun with this one. I became completely invested in the mystery and loved the partnership of George and Richie. They’re definitely a detective duo I want to read more of. I like how McCluskey gave them an interesting history in addition to the mystery they were solving.

McCluskey also nailed the island atmosphere and I found this to be spooky in addition to mysterious. I loved the feel of the locals. They were believable, yet also untrustworthy. It gave the whole thing an unsettling feeling from the start.

I did have moments where I felt challenged to keep up with a lot of the side characters, but for the most part, I think McCluskey did a great job creating a thick web of intrigue, while also keeping it accessible and understandable.

About halfway through, I was curious if this was going to become a series, and I’m so happy to report that there is a 2nd-book, The Cursed Road: A new gripping Scottish crime thriller from the bestselling author of THE WOLF TREE, set to release very early next year.

Y’all, I will be first in line for that. George and Richie are such a great match, their skill sets playing perfectly off one another. Richie, as a more aged, experienced detective, of course feels protective over George, and for her part, she’s just testing her limits.

I would recommend this for fans of Caz Frear’s Cat Kinsella series, the DC Morgan series by Clare Mackinstosh, or the DCI Jonah Sheens series by Gytha Lodge.

Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I cannot wait for the next book to release!

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Review: Head Cases (PAR Unit #1) by John McMahon

~ megs14malloy

Head Cases (PAR Unit, #1)Head Cases by John McMahon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Head Cases is a super-strong start to an all new Police Procedural Mystery series, following an elite, yet obscure, unit in the FBI called PAR (Patterns and Recognition).

I learned about this book through good ole’ fashioned word of mouth, and I could tell from what my friends were saying that this would align with my taste. Happily, it certainly did.

Our MC is FBI Agent Gardner Camden. He’s undoubtedly an analytical genius, but unfortunately, the people-side of his analysis tend to be lacking. He’s a puzzle genius, yet a mediocre people person.

Nevertheless, along with the rest of the team, each bringing their own special set of skills to the table, they’re a true force to be reckoned with.

The case in question involves a murder victim whose DNA links to a serial killer long-presumed dead. A 2nd-victim establishes a pattern, and the killer seems to be leaving behind clues and riddles especially created for Gardner.

The team flies into action and the rest of the story is a whirlwind of cat-and-mouse suspense as Gardner gets closer-and-closer to catching the killer.

I listened to the audiobook for this one and found it to be so gripping. I highly recommend that format should you have access to it. I felt the narrator became Agent Gardner for me. It was completely believable.

I loved the quirky team as well. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, working well together to get the outcome they all desired. I love when strong teams are shown on page, versus teams full of drama and strife.

I would HIGHLY recommend this to fans of Criminal Minds. I was totally picturing Matthew Grey Gubler and Shemar Moore the whole time, which obviously is not a bad thing…

I’m not sure what the long-term plan is for this series, but the possibilities are endless. I’d definitely be down for joining this team on a lot more cases.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I cannot wait for more PAR Unit!!

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Review: The Coldest Cast (Shana Merchant #6) by Tessa Wegert

~ megs14malloy

The Coldest Case (Shana Merchant, #6)The Coldest Case by Tessa Wegert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

The Shana Merchant series just keeps getting better. Wegert delivering the twists, the turns, the chilling atmosphere, and the jaw-dropping revelations. I loved this one!

The Coldest Case is the 6th-installment of this character-driven, Police Procedural Mystery series, set in the Thousand Lakes region of Upstate New York.

I’ve enjoyed all the books in this series, but this could be my favorite one yet. If you’re unfamiliar with this series, it follows Senior Investigator, Shana Merchant, and her partner/husband, Tim Wellington.

Each book focuses on a different case, or mystery, but there is a compelling over-arching storyline for Shana herself, that you won’t want to miss. I would recommend starting this series at the beginning for maximum enjoyment.

In this installment, Tim and Shana are alerted to a missing person on the vastly remote island of Running Pine. It’s February and only a handful of adults, and one child, actually remain on the island over-Winter.

This missing man, Cary, is one of the island’s newest residents, never having done a Winter there. Cary, and his girlfriend, Sylvie, who has family connections to the island, are social-media influencers, who moved to the island to promote their quasi-off-grid lifestyle brand.

Cary goes fishing with a couple of other Running Pine men one morning, but when the two men are ready to leave, Cary tells them he wants to stay out on the ice a while longer. After that, Cary never returns home. The remaining island citizens fear the worse, and immediately call for help and a vigorous search ensues.

With the clock ticking, and temps dropping, a police team makes the perilous journey, only possible by airboat over the ice this time of year, out to Running Pine.

The victim’s girlfriend, Sylvie, is acting bizarrely and it doesn’t seem she is disclosing everything she knows to the investigators. The other island residents are equally odd. What exactly are these people hiding?

This story was told so well. I love how it all unfolded. Learning about the residents of Running Pine and getting to travel out to the island and feel its remoteness. Wegert nailed the creation of that stark and desolate atmosphere.

Running Pine felt like a world of its own, following its own set of rules. Everything there seemed a little off, and I wanted Shana far, far away from it.

I also loved that the story was set in February. The cold got under my skin. There’s inclement weather that presents a huge obstacle to the police investigation, but in spite of that, Shana, Tim and the team, aren’t giving up.

There’s so much going on in Shana’s personal life as well. She’s about to start a new chapter, (view spoiler), and it has caused her to reflect a bit on her past, including the last case she had before leaving the NYPD.

I did enjoy this secondary mystery and felt it was important for Shana to reexamine that old case. She needs closure from that time period, 4-years ago, that ended with her in the clutches of a serial killer, after which she left the city, and the department, to move upstate.

As a trauma survivor, Shana’s journey of recovery and healing has happened in many stages. It’s still very much a part of her and I can definitely understand why she would be wanting to put more of it to bed, as she continues building her life in A-Bay.

The mix of the present case with Shana’s past was really well balanced by Wegert, IMO. Neither one overshadowed the other, and I feel like they were both important and impactful for Shana’s continued character growth.

I’m not sure what the plans are for this series, but I’m definitely anticipating more and would be shattered if this were actually the last one.

There were moments whilst reading this, that I actually questioned that, because Wegert was being so reflective with Shana’s character, it almost felt like a good-bye.

It can’t possibly be though, so I shall stalk Wegert’s author page remain patient whilst I wait for news on Book #7. Wegert’s at the top of her freaking game, this absolutely can’t be it for this gripping Mystery series.

When I tell you there were twists in this that left me gagged, I’m not exaggerating. This was such a fun read. I can’t wait to see what case Shana will face next!!
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Review: Devils at the Door (Shana Merchant #5) by Tessa Wegert

~ megs14malloy

Devils at the Door (Shana Merchant #5)Devils at the Door by Tessa Wegert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚🖤

Devils at the Door is the 5th-book in Tessa Wegert’s Shana Merchant series. I’ve really enjoyed all the previous novels, and was excited to get to this one.

I’m happy to report, this is just as engaging as all the rest. It was so good for a number of different reasons, but my favorites were the overall mystery and the fact that Shana’s niece, Hen, is in town and plays a starring role.

If you are unfamiliar with this series, it follows Senior Investigator, Shana Merchant, and her partner, Tim Wellington, delivering solid Police Procedural action and intrigue throughout.

The setting is the Thousand Lakes region of upstate New York, which sits on the border to Canada. In this installment, as mentioned above, Shana’s teenage-niece, Henrietta, known as Hen, comes to live with her following a rebellious streak leaves Shana’s brother and sister-in-law at wits end.

Shana is happy for Hen to come stay, but is surprised by the changes she sees in Hen once she arrives. Gone is the cheerful, sweet little girl she remembers. Taking her place is a sullen, secretive teen, who seems obsessed with the macabre and displays odd behaviors.

The mystery begins when a local teenager drowns on the shores of the uninhabited Devil’s Oven Island, a frequent, yet dangerous, party spot for young people.

Responding to the call of the unresponsive teen, Shana is shocked to find Hen there, along with a couple of other teens. Hen just got to town, Shana didn’t even realize she had made friends yet, and she snuck out at night? Shana is left reeling by all these developments at once.

The circumstances surrounding the drowning are so unclear, and none of the teens at the scene are talking. How is Shana going to get to the bottom of this before the suspicions fall on Hen? She’s the outsider, a loner, a bit unusual, the one people aren’t going to believe.

Shana digs in and ends up discovering a few buried secrets that the adults of the town would rather keep buried, but how is any of that related to the recent drowning?

I loved this mystery, especially having the added pressure of Hen being involved. The stakes were particularly high for Shana, and you could feel that pressure reverberating throughout her life.

Subsequently, there was some exploration of Shana and Tim’s relationship and all that sort of shined a light on how Shana’s past may still be negatively effecting her.

Her traumas are certainly a lot to get over, so it’s no surprise. I think maybe Shana had thought it was more put to rest than it actually is though, so it was nice to see her examining that closer.

I frequently find myself saying about Adult Mystery series that they can be read in any order. And while that’s true here, it is a standalone mystery, this is one of the cases where I believe you are best served to start this series at the beginning and read them all the way through.

Wegert has taken great care developing her characters and sense of place. Shana in particular is such a well-fleshed out MC. She is on such a journey in this series and it would be most impactful for you, as the Reader, to start at the beginning with her.

Trust me, they’re all so good, you’ll be happy you did. Personally, I’m excited to get my hands on the 6th-book. I hope this series continues on for a long, long time. 25-books wouldn’t be enough. Keep ’em coming, Wegert!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Severn House, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This was a great mystery featuring one of my favorite detectives.

I can’t wait for more Shana Merchant!!!

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Review: The Girls on Floor 13 (Detective Maria Miller #3) by Helen Phifer

~ megs14malloy

The Girls on Floor 13 (Detective Maria Miller #3)The Girls on Floor 13 by Helen Phifer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Helen Phifer’s Detective Maria Miller books are all super solid, page-turning Paranormal Mysteries. These books follow Maria Miller and her partner, Frankie, as they investigate cases that lack a normal, scientific explanation, and trust, these stories get DARK.

Located in New York City, there’s certainly no lack of bizarre happenings for them to investigate. Maria and Frankie have quickly become one of my favorite detective duos.

In this, the 3rd-installment to the series, Maria and Frankie are summoned to the Parker Hotel, an infamously haunted NYC-hotel, after the bodies of two teenage girls are found murdered in one of the rooms on the 13th floor.

The girls are laid out on the twin beds, as if on display. It’s a gruesome scene. As the investigation begins, the hotel manager shares some information with Maria that surprises her. A newspaper article reporting on an almost identical double murder that occurred in the hotel decades earlier.

In fact, a lot of people have suffered a tragic end at the hotel, some of the spirits reportedly still stalk the halls. Is there possibly some connection to the past in this case?

The more time they spend at the hotel, the more it seems to be effecting Maria. It feels like something has poisoned her body. It’s truly a race against the clock as they try to find the murderer, before they have the opportunity to strike again.

I found this mystery very intriguing. Phifer wastes no time diving into the main case we’re going to be examining. I appreciate how Phifer’s not afraid to get graphic. This one is definitely not for the faint of heart.

I loved the inspiration I felt from IRL Haunted Hotels. I know the author had a particular hotel in NYC in mind, but it immediately made me think of the Cecil Hotel. I mean, the watertower connection…

There’s def some creepy imagery in this. I feel like Phifer excels in that area. Let it be known, this is a true Paranormal Mystery. It’s not one of those, is it, is it not, cases. Go into this knowing it is absolutely, 100% Paranormal.

As with many Adult Mystery series, you can read this as a standalone. I would recommend reading the other books in the series though, as there is a lot of great character development for Maria and Frankie, as well as some really fun side characters, over the course of the three books.

With this being said, you could actually read this one first and then if you loved it enough, go back and read the other two. I would certainly have no problem with doing that.

This gets absolutely wild at the end. It’s so gripping. It’s compelling throughout, but the pace and the stakes really increase the closer you get to the end.

Overall, this was an entertaining, fast-paced, creepy mystery. I love how Phifer pulls a historical perspective into her stories as well. The back and forth and the way everything builds out is just very pleasing.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Paranormal Mysteries, or Horror Mysteries. Maria and Frankie are like the Mulder and Scully of the NYPD.

Thank you to the publisher, Storm Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I can’t wait to see what comes next for these characters!

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Review: The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

~ megs14malloy

The Return of Ellie BlackThe Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ellie Black has been missing for 2-years when she’s suddenly found by hikers in the woods of Washington State.

She’s distraught and disheveled, but where exactly has she been? Detective Chelsey Calhoun is shocked by Ellie’s reappearance, but unfortunately, Ellie’s not offering up a lot of answers. The mystery lingers.

For Chelsey, any missing person case hits close to home. Her sister, Lydia, went missing when they were just teens, and ever since, Chelsey has been searching for closure for herself, and any other missing girls out there.

As Chelsey begins questioning Ellie, she’s not able to get any real answers from her. It feels off, like Ellie is hiding something, but what? She’s a victim here, right?

This novel is insta-compelling. We kick off with Ellie being discovered and from there, it’s a ride. We get a lot of different perspectives, and even different points in time, as we begin to build out the truth behind this mystery.

I was initially surprised by all the perspectives, but somehow, it just worked. I also loved the tone from the start, how mysterious it all was.

This definitely kept me guessing and I appreciated how Jean continually added to the mystery. What started out as the mystery of what had happened to Ellie, ultimately evolved into so much more.

I thought Jean had some very clever reveals and I loved the thoughtful way she explored the topic of the exploitation and victimization of women.

Overall, I was impressed with this. The tone stood out for me. I’m not sure quite how to explain it, but it felt distinctive from other Missing Persons Thrillers. It’s quite character-drive, but so well-executed.

Thank you to the publisher, Simon & Schuster, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to reading more from Emiko Jean!

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