mystereity's reviews
1164 reviews

A great read from an author I've been reading for over 20 years and one I look forward to every year.

I enjoyed this one. Kellerman fell flat for a couple of books in the last few years, but this one was solidly back on track. Great plot; although it's easy to pick out the who in Kellerman's books, it's always the why that keeps me reading, and this one was no exception. I also liked that it flowed well and was well-focused; right from the first page, it got right into the plot. No easing into it, and the pace didn't let up until the end. I've noticed in several books that it gets bogged down in the middle (usually with Alex massaging his OCD) but there was little (if any) of that in this book.

A solid read to curl up with on a winter weekend.

I won't rate this, because I can't finish it. I didn't even make it through the first chapter. If this was the author's 1st book, I might be able to overlook the cutesy, overly simple writing. But after 18 books, I'd expect a little more polish and a tone that reflected a middle-aged woman, not a breathless 16 year old.

Also how can a small town doctor have enough money to hire a private jet, buy a "trousseau" for several women, fund a vacation in Las Vegas? He better be Hannah's next victim, because he's burning through his retirement money pretty fast.

Count me out.

Somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars. I enjoyed it, the characters are likeable and it's a charming series but the plot just wasn't up to spanning the whole book and there was plenty of detail in some areas but not enough in others. Example: we get the details of what's in Sarah's office down to the smallest detail, but the reason why Rose was evicted never came out. Plus, it looks like it's headed for one of the dreaded love triangles.

Overall, a good book that could be great with a little work.

*I was given an ARC by the publisher, Kensington Books in exchange for an honest review*

Killer Run is book 5 in the Tourist Trap Mystery series. Bookstore owner Jill is talked into sponsoring a 5k run to benefit the preservation society who is dragging their feet in declaring the old mission ruins in Jill's backyard as a bonafide Spanish Mission site. One of the race's promoters is found dead during the race, and Jill (with sidekick Aunt Jackie) race to solve the murder and the vandalism at another of South Cove's businesses.

I really enjoyed the book. It was nice to see more of Aunt Jackie drawn into the story and fleshed out more of her character.I'm wondering what the next book will hold with all the foreshadowing on Jackie's health. I also enjoyed Sasha's teasing of Toby. How long until they get set up together? Next book's a good bet. I'm hoping for some more character development going forward with Toby (and Greg for that matter)

As for the plot, there were two crimes for Jill to solve, the murder of the race promoter, and the vandalism at the train shop. The Josh-capade of finding the victim was pretty funny, I had a pretty good mental picture of it in my head. I did feel that there wasn't enough time getting to know the victim, who is in the book for only a short scene before turning up dead, and even the suspects don't have much in the way of character development. Without knowing anything about the victim, I didn't have a good feel for who the suspects were and why, which means I wasn't as engaged with it as I was in previous books. However, the plot was The plot was very good though, lots of twists and there were a couple of red herrings that made me question who I thought was involved with the crimes and they were done very well.

Overall, another enjoyable entry in the Tourist Trap series and looking forward to many more.

This was a nostalgia read.  I first read this book 20 or so years ago when it came out and it still stands out as one of the best books I've ever read. 
 
Set in 1890s NYC, an alienist (or a psychologist in modern terms) and his friends set out to solve the murders of several "boy-whores" - children who dress as women and sell their bodies in debauched bars in the city. What I enjoyed is that so much of NYC's history is tied up in the story, from Teddy Roosevelt's stint as police commissioner to the landmarks still standing today to the city's notorious gangsters stirring up trouble. The plot is a taut thriller than builds slowly as the investigation goes from clue to clue to build a psychological profile of a killer and tracking him down.  And that's what I think appeals to me most; there's no "stumbling onto the killer" moment; the groundwork is laid, and that's what leads them to the killer.  It's a very well written mystery rich in detail without being dry and stilted. 
 
A great novel and I enjoyed revisiting the world of Kreizler, Moore and Sara.

This first came to my attention as a show on PBS and I was fascinated by it, not only for the subject of poisonings, but also how forensics and medical examiners offices came about.  The book has all the same information but was able to go a little more in depth. A little dry in parts (and I confess, I had to skip over any parts where they talked about using dogs as test subjects; yes I understand the importance but it's something I really don't want to have to think about.) but the case histories were fascinating, compelling and horrifying.  The one story that will always stay with me is about The Radium Girls, a group of young women who were employed painting watch faces with Radium.  One of the first women to die, a woman in her early 20s, had a jaw so degraded that the dentist "lifted it out with his fingers."
 
Try to get that image out of your head.
 
Overall a fantastic, haunting and memorable book and one I recommend to anyone interested in forensics.

I'm actually only about 60% done, but I've read enough to write a review.

The problem with this book (and with the first book in the series) is that the plot was not fully developed, and as such, was not able to span a whole book without adding a bunch of inane interactions with minor characters that serve only as an obvious attempt to pad the book.

Which is a shame because the plot (minus all the inanity) is actually pretty good. It's a shame that so much filler is stuffed in the book that I lost interest.

So a 2 star review, mostly because I love the idea of a lighthouse library but that's being generous because Louise Jane, the overbearing mother and the love-triangle-in-the-making made it just impossible to get through.

Bare Bones Just...meh.  Rambling, meandering and feels like it was twice as long as it should have been.  It was good, but just barely good.  Not bad, but not great.  Just...okay.