A Premonition of Murder (Dream Club Mystery 3) by Mary Kennedy

by Mary Kennedy

published by Berkley

Mary Kennedy, you've outdone yourself. I loved this, the 3rd Dream Club Mystery, also the 3rd I've read. I find dreams so fascinating in the directions they go. The Dream Club is a perfect example. Beginning with a wealthy, elderly lady hosting a tea-party outside her mansion, she immediately stuns them with the news she dreamed she's going to die, that was the feeling she had from the dream. The Dream Club then tries to help her sort out the dream she had. Fascinating ideas. But are they a portent or a nightmare? The Dream Club is a very mixed group, so she will certainly get a variety of suggestions, though most concur her dream of death was not necessarily what the dream is about. So many different possibilities, especially when her house is a mansion, a beautiful old Savannah home, very large and housing some of her assistants. Are the people who are living there truly caring for her? or is there a darker side to some of them. How many can be trusted?

This dream seems to be complicated as the Club begins to consider the people in the house besides Abigail Marchand, since she is somewhat of a recluse and relies on these others. Of course, with the housekeeper having worked there for over 30 years, she will be receiving an inheritance of $30,000,000. Others appear to be non-threatening, but are they? Who are some of these people who have been showing up recently? Abigail falls to her death, but actually was pushed down the stairs. Finally some questions surface in the group along with Detective Sam Styles, a member of the Dream Club, as they really get to work on what the dreams of all of them have been leading them to, Abigail's housemates and yard-workers. Who is the family member Sophie, from another country? Is she really a relative? What was the real cause of death of Abigail's sister, Desiree? Who is the student recording the artwork in the house? Lucy, the housekeeper, has a son living in the mansion, what is known about him?

Lucy murdered, by whom? Sophie is supposedly Abigail's last living relative, is that true? Abigail has requested that Tracy and Ali record all items in the house after her death. A lot going on with this book. I found the views of the Dream Club very interesting, lives being lost strangely interesting as facts became clearer. I enjoyed reading the Dream Symbol Guide in the back of the book, I wonder what the dreams of floating mean?

Dead Wake - A Forgotten Coast Florida Suspense Novel - Book 5

by Dawn Lee McKenna
reviewed from Kindle

 This book got my attention from the start, and no wonder. A flood from the most recent hurricane most certainly can make a lot of changes to buildings and landscapes. On the other hand, what turns out to be a completely unexpected find turns the town's citizens upside-down. Welcome to Apalachicola! Now I am very sorry I haven't discovered this series before. Unusual problems exist in the relationships of the citizens in their everyday lives but the shocking find while renovating a building halts almost everything but the investigation. Surprising twists and turns, mistaken answers to questions, I really enjoyed the sometimes shocking and sometimes humorous relationships, hidden secrets and the surprises that go along with it.

Blood Orchids (Lei Crime Book 1)

author Toby Neal
reviewed from e-reader

A unique story, not easily categorized. Neither completely cozy nor completely hard-boiled, but a passionate tale of a child with a stolen childhood who is struggling to be a strong woman in the worst of circumstances. That said, I really enjoyed the book for all its changes in Lei's life. Taking place in Hawaii, Lei is a police officer seeking a better position to allow her to do the job she knows she can do...if only her past horrors would leave her mind alone.

A woman who is obviously full of fun when she is not feeling overwhelmed, part of her future with the police relies on her appointments with a psychiatrist. I feel they are a pretty good match, both unusual but able to recognize the whole person each is. I enjoyed their meetings. Then there is romance, a 'will she won't she' type of thing due to her terrorized past. It's a little confusing as to who has had the most horrific past. I think my favourite character is Lei's rottweiler, super guard dog. In fact, I really liked the early characters in the book. On the other hand, working in crime, Lei finds herself at the mercy of stalkers, murderers and pedophiles, if not related to her past, she finds them in her cases, and eventually in her present.

The real suspense begins about the middle of the story after the preset of the book. Scenes from her past overlap current scenes, the connection she could and should have with Stephens is overwhelmed by her fears, he fears for her life with the chances she takes, but he seems to understand why she takes them. I really liked this, the first in the Lei Crime series, with so much going on, it is interesting what I did manage to glean from the story. Different, but in a pretty good way. Past history in Lei's life plays a role of its own, but she appears to be overcoming much of the past by the end and looking forward to a better future. I think Toby Neal is onto a solid series and look forward to more.

E.Y.E. of the Scorpion (E.Y.E. Spy Mystery Book 1) by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

a Qwickie Book
Published by Imajin Books

A surprising book, looking at it from the perspective of the usual suspects and heroes. Personally I found the story very descriptive and therefore very convincing. A murder has been committed, with one very youthful witness who doesn't remember all he saw. Call in Eileen Edwards, ex-cop and exceptionally on point as a private investigator, one who worked with the Gang Task Force unit and is called in to help by the lead cop on the case. What is unique to this mystery and probable gang-hit, is that the witness is a young person in the wrong place at the wrong time. The purpose of the investigation is two-fold: who was the shooter, who was the witness and how can he be protected.

What a combination of characters Cheryl Kaye Tardif has brought together in this book! So many hurting and lost people, will they find closure to their current lives and discover a new future for themselves? From the bottom of the barrel, the very dregs of mankind, can they pick themselves up and live again? That is the root of the question as a backdrop to the crime and the author handles it with realism at the fore.

Eileen Edwards is a total exception to what one might expect of a private investigator. Though she is brilliant at what she does in investigation, she carries a lot of baggage, baggage that needs to be toppled over. The boy she must find to keep him alive is also carrying far more baggage than his slender frame should be made to bear. The past makes for a difficult beginning between these two lost souls. Can they work together or will it all fall apart? There are multiple surprises yet to come in this book, along with the fear of loss once more along the way. There are traitors and heroes and surprises, best of all, this is Book One of the E.Y.E. Looking forward to another, believe me, the ride is worth it, questions remain to pique our interest.

Such Wicked Friends by Rod Hoisington

Published by EnteraBooks
Cover Art by Mark Hoisington

Feisty, smart and sassy, Sandy Reid has traded in her whiplash field investigations for the courtroom...or has she? She has recently passed the bar and is now a criminal lawyer, but no staid lawyer is she. Retaining her voracious appetite for the truth, she turns the world of law on its ear.

Rod Hoisington's latest mystery all begins with a more or less routine phone call from a woman to Martin, her partner, the lawyer she "rents a desk from". He passes the arranged meeting with the client over to Sandy to deal with. Martin likes his cases to be simple and civil and meeting an unidentified woman with husband troubles after dark wasn't something he wanted to take on. Unfortunately, when Sandy finds the woman, she has a bullet hole in her forehead. From that moment on, matters go from bad to worse as she is taken away, cuffed, by the police. No residue is found on her hands, but Sandy sees a fair-sized blood stain on the back of her hand, wondering why no one has mentioned it. It makes her feel connected somehow to this woman she only met in death, as though it is a plea for help. Apparently she is the only one who can see it. She must also admit to touching, in fact to picking up an envelope from the woman's lap, and though she immediately put it back, she knows this is going to go badly for her. Sandy just can't keep out of the way of her old nemesis State Attorney Lawrence Moran and his ongoing vindictiveness toward her. She made the unforgivable mistake of proving him wrong when they first met. Now, on what should be a misdemeanor, he is going to do everything in his power to have her disbarred, and power is something he has in spades. On the other hand, Sandy has a few tricks up her sleeve, too, including Martin, who is well-versed in the law, and her current beau Det. Chip Bogard, with all his police knowledge, background and friends.

Enter the perennial party-goers Jenna and Brad, long-time friends of Martin, and he is introduced to Prissy, a dressed-down somewhat shapeless but nice-looking woman who zeroes in on him with lust and moneybags in her eyes. Though these people do not appear to have anything to do with the murdered woman, you just never know about people. What it does provide at this point is romantic entertainment for Martin, and the timing is right because he has just hired a caretaker for his father suffering from Alzheimers, giving Martin some worry-free freedom.

As it turns out, this seemingly innocuous "marital dispute" death, simple and sad, is more than it seems and will have global ramifications. Sandy will have proven herself once again, getting shot up in the process, one tough cookie, but fun as well. As Sandy might say to Moran "Put that in your pipe and smoke it!", or probably not quite in those words. Another great Sandy Reid mystery from Rod Hoisington. He just gets better and better. This story was very fast-paced, thrilling, sexy and funny by turns. I really enjoyed it.

The Spider Bites by Medora Sale

Publisher: Raven Books

This book is referred to as a "Rapid Read" book, short, with a little larger print. These books are easy to read and would be great for invalids, anyone with a shorter attention span, a commuter, or anyone who enjoys a quick break with a book.

Medora Sale has authored a great story with all the traditional and exciting elements of mystery held within a smaller package. As a shorter story, "The Spider Bites" lost none of its edge of mystery.

This full-fledged story begins with Rick Montoya, a suspended police officer under investigation for corruption. His nickname is the Spider, and he is innocent but does not expect to be accepted by his fellows even if cleared. He has spent the summer working on a farm and is just returning home.

The corruption frame is only part of what happens in this book. His former life is in chaos and the house his apartment is in goes up in suspicious flames. The action is crisp, the reader learns a surprising amount about his former life, his friends, his wife. There is a strong sense of more than one thing going on. Two people died in the fire, one of them in his apartment, which changes the core of the story... or does it? Are the murders related to the corruption charge? Is there something else going on?

This book will hold your attention to a satisfying close, regardless of being a faster than usual read. I really enjoyed the story-line and read it all in one day, not something I'm usually able to do. Quite frankly, I want to read more from this Canadian author.