mystery

Death Cult, by Declan Finn

This is book 2 in the Saint Tommy, NYPD Series

Poor Tommy! And even more poor wife, son, and neighbors.  Tommy barely has time to recover from the incidents in book 1 when the action starts again, and it just keeps coming.

Tommy and his family are just settling in to their new house when they are attacked.  The intruders are marked with the sign of a demon, indicating that the cult from book 1 is back and now he’s their target.

This story takes place over a just a few days and the action is fast and furious.  As Tommy and his partner try to find out who is behind the attacks, they meet enemies new and old and some surprising allies.

I really enjoyed the book.  The dialogue is witty with plenty of snap and sarcasm.  The mystery is detailed and intriguing.  The story is the kind you just can’t put down and you won’t want to.

I received a review copy of this book.  My opinions, as always, are my own.

Kasey Briggs Leave a comment

Reign of the Vampires, by Rebekah Ganiere

Book one of The Society series.

In Reign of the Vampires, humans are a rarity and are slaves in an elaborate stratified society run by Vampires at the top, vampyrs next and vamps at the bottom. An outbreak 15 years ago turned most humans into vamps and caused human civilization to fail. Vampires took over and rebuilt society.

The book opens on a group of humans trying to eke out a living on the run. They are forced to steal to survive and are constantly pursued by slavers. Mason, one of the strongest in the group, has an anger problem. He’s not “just” human and has a raging beast inside that he must constantly calm to avoid others finding out about him. When his group is captured by slavers, they’re all at great risk, particularly Mason with his secret.

Danika is a vampire lord in charge of the Midwest area and her family’s corporation. She feels that her position is precarious because she is young, the only female lord, and unrated. In addition past mistakes have made some question her rule. As the book opens she is in poor health because she hasn’t been eating or sleeping.

When Danika tours an upcoming slave auction she meets Mason and plans to buy him and some others in his group. She’s intrigued by Mason, immediately realizing that he’s not not a normal human. Meanwhile, Mason’s beast awakens for Danica, despite his hatred of Vampires.

At first I wasn’t sure I would like this book because the tempo slowed after the capture of the humans as the Vampire world was set up and explained. This was intermixed with mysterious clues about Danika and Mason’s secrets so that it kept things interesting. After the backstory and world was established the plot really picked up and I was hooked. Once I got into it, I enjoyed the book very much and I look forward to reading other books in the series.

I would classify this book as a mystery/paranormal romance based in a dystopian urban setting. There was a lot of world-building, but that is necessary for the first book in a series with such a unique world.

I received a free review copy of this book. My opinions, as always, are my own.

Kasey Briggs Leave a comment

The Doom Murders, by Brian O’Hare

The Doom Murders is a serial killer mystery set in Belfast, Ireland in late 2010.  The main character is DCI Jim Sheehan, a detective with a reputation for using unusual insight to solve difficult cases.  He and his squad are assigned to the murder of a Catholic Bishop who was found dead in his office, naked, and obviously posed.  This becomes a pattern as bodies show up every Thursday always Catholic, always naked, and always posed.  A task force is formed and we follow the police investigation to the final solution.  Along the way we learn about the possible psychology and religious motivation behind the killings.
I thought the Doom Murders was a great mystery story and I really enjoyed it.  It had a challenging plot with lots of twists and turns.  The characters were engaging and well-rounded, and the setting and problems of policing in Belfast after “the troubles” was fully explored.  Some of the vocabulary was be a little challenging, but it was important for the feel of the story.

cre8tiveadmin Leave a comment