ARC Review: The Last Close Call by Laura Griffin

The Last Close Call
Author: Laura Griffin
Publication: Berkley (October 24, 2023)

Description: A talented genetic analyst and a detective who's haunted by an elusive cold case team up in the new standalone romantic suspense from New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin.

Forensic genealogist Rowan Healy has made a name for herself by helping investigators trace the family trees of violent criminals who have eluded justice for years. But the pressure of police cases left her burned out, and she’s shifted her focus to helping adoptees find their biological parents.

Austin detective Jack Bruner has spent his career successfully tracking down vicious criminals—with the notable exception of the West Campus Rapist, a meticulous offender in Texas who has never been identified. When the latest two victims come to light, Jack sees his target is escalating his violent behavior—and only with Rowan's help does he stand a chance of cracking this case

Moved by Jack’s dedication and the brutal details of the attacks he lays out, Rowan agrees to help. When her ground-breaking DNA research sheds new light on the criminal's background and helps them zero in on a search radius, Rowan and Jack must race against the clock to find a ruthless killer who's growing bolder the longer he evades the law.

My Thoughts: Rowan Healy is a forensic genealogist who has made a name for herself helping adopted people find their birth families. She used to work with the police but found herself burning out from the constant exposure to criminals.

Austin detective Jack Bruner is a dedicated cop who lives and breathes his work. He has been consumer for years by a serial rapist nicknamed the West Campus Rapist who committed a series of crimes and then disappeared. Jack is afraid that he's back. Not only did he assault a woman in Austin, but the assault escalated to murder in San Antonio. While they have little evidence, there is some DNA found at the site of one of the assaults. 

Jack asks Rowan to go back to police work and help him track down the rapist not knowing that she was friends with one of the earliest victims. Rowan uses her skills to help him find the suspect who was given up for adoption by his sixteen-year-old mother. However, the suspect dropped off the radar after a suspicious house fire that killed his adoptive parents.

Rowan and Jack spend enough time together to start a relationship that neither is sure they want. Workaholic Jack isn't sure how Rowan can fit into his life. And Rowan doesn't know if a relationship with a workaholic who might draw her back into the sort of work that almost broke her would be a good thing for her. 

I enjoyed this story which give a lot of details about surveillance and techniques for identifying suspects using DNA. I liked the two main characters and the relationship they built. 

Favorite Quote:

"You're talking about the nature-versus-nurture debate," Rowan said, not quite sure how to answer.

"Sort of. I guess I'm wondering if there's a gene for it. Do you think it can be passed down from generation to generation like, say red hair? Or pattern baldness? Can someone be born a predator?"

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The Last Close Call by Laura Griffin

 Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

The Friday 56 is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including them.

Beginning:

Evie waited for the third ring to pick up.

"Are you bailing?" Hannah asked.

"Sorry."

"Evie, you promised."

Friday 56:

"Pretty brazen, right? That's why Gordon Reilly remembers it," Dara said. "He said Will was always doing stuff like that, just walking into places, bold as hell."

This week I am spotlighting The Last Close Call by Laura Griffin. This book is a recent arrival on my review stack. Here's the description from Amazon:

A talented genetic analyst and a detective who's haunted by an elusive cold case team up in the new standalone romantic suspense from New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin.

Forensic genealogist Rowan Healy has made a name for herself by helping investigators trace the family trees of violent criminals who have eluded justice for years. But the pressure of police cases left her burned out, and she’s shifted her focus to helping adoptees find their biological parents.

Austin detective Jack Bruner has spent his career successfully tracking down vicious criminals—with the notable exception of the West Campus Rapist, a meticulous offender in Texas who has never been identified. When the latest two victims come to light, Jack sees his target is escalating his violent behavior—and only with Rowan's help does he stand a chance of cracking this case.

Moved by Jack’s dedication and the brutal details of the attacks he lays out, Rowan agrees to help. When her ground-breaking DNA research sheds new light on the criminal's background and helps them zero in on a search radius, Rowan and Jack must race against the clock to find a ruthless killer who's growing bolder the longer he evades the law.

Audiobook Review: The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths

The Last Remains
Author: Elly Griffiths
Narrator: Jane McDowell
Series: Ruth Galloway Mystery (Book 15)
Publication: HarperAudio (April 25, 2023)
Length: 9 hours and 41 minutes

Description: The discovery of a missing woman’s bones force Ruth and Nelson to finally confront their feelings for each other as they desperately work to exonerate one of their own in this not-to-be-missed Ruth Galloway mystery from USA Today bestselling author Elly Griffiths.

When builders discover a human skeleton during a renovation of a café, they call in archeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway, who is preoccupied with the threatened closure of her department and by her ever-complicated relationship with DCI Nelson. The bones turn out to be modern—the remains of Emily Pickering, a young archaeology student who went missing in 2002. Suspicion soon falls on Emily’s Cambridge tutor and also on another archeology enthusiast who was part of the group gathered the weekend before she disappeared—Ruth’s friend Cathbad.

As they investigate, Nelson and his team uncover a tangled web of relationships within the archeology group and look for a link between them and the café where Emily’s bones were found. Then, just when the team seem to be making progress, Cathbad disappears. The trail leads Ruth a to the Neolithic flint mines in Grimes Graves. The race is on, first to find Cathbad and then to exonerate him, but will Ruth and Nelson uncover the truth in time to save their friend?

My Thoughts: Modern bones in a wall start this case. Ruth is called in to excavate and she alerts Nelson that the bones are modern. A metal plate in an ankle help identify the young woman who has a connection to Cathbad.

Ruth is preoccupied with the potential closure of her department at the University of North Norfolk. Her colleague David is busy planning rallies and Twitter campaigns and getting letters of support from prominent archaeologists. 

Ruth is also concerned about her relationship with Nelson especially since Michelle has come back to help him celebrate Fathers' Day and it looks to Ruth like they are beginning their relationship again. Leaving her beloved marsh is also on her mind since her daughter's growing social life and educational needs are more difficult with them living so far out in the country. 

When Cathbad who is still suffering from long Covid disappears, all of the characters try to retrace his steps and in doing so both Ruth and Nelson are reminded of all the cases they have solved in the fourteen years since they first met. 

This was an excellent conclusion to a long-running and very engaging series. 

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Deadly Tides by Mary Keliikoa

Deadly Tides
Author: Mary Keliikoa
Series: A Misty Pines Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Level Best Books (October 24, 2023)

Description: A missing surf legend. Waterlogged clues. Can he trust his gut instincts to end the wave of murder?

Sheriff Jax Turner is learning to live again. Holding tight to the hope of reconciling with his FBI agent ex-wife, the wary man is determined to keep his focus on his coastal Oregon community. And after a concerned brother requests a welfare check, Jax is troubled to find the absent surf shop owner's tracks lead to a pool of blood.

Now investigating a potential homicide, Turner chases a tip from his former spouse about a severed foot found on the beach. But when a torrent of leads links the victim to a politician's son, a jealous competitor, and a get-straight program for youth, the steadfast lawman fears layers of lies and secret agendas will keep him from stopping a vicious killer.

Can he unravel the fatal agenda before he's the next corpse to wash ashore?

If you like flawed heroes, gritty crimes, and dark twists and turns, then you'll love Deadly Tides, the chilling second book in Mary Keliikoa's Misty Pines Mystery Series.

My Thoughts: Both Sheriff Jax Turner and his ex-wife FBI agent Abby Kanekoa are still dealing with the death of their young daughter Lulu from leukemia a few years earlier. Lulu's death cost them their marriage though Jax is still hoping to reconcile. He's finally coming out of the black hole that Lulu's death put in his life. But work problems including conflicts with one of the City Council are causing new stress. And when a local surf legend goes missing except for one foot, tensions rise.

Abby is not only dealing with the loss of her child and her marriage but she is dealing with her mother's early onset Alzheimer's disease. Dora has taken to walking away from the assisted living facility where she lives adding more stress to Abby's life. When she finds her mother on the beach on afternoon, Dora is cradling a foot in a track shoe. 

This isn't the only foot that has shown up along the Pacific Coast. But identifying the foot's owner leads Abby and her partner to another missing person's case. Could it be connected to Jax's missing person case? There are similarities which cause Jax and Abby to have to work together despite their differences. 

This was an engaging story damaged but healing main characters. I enjoyed the small coastal town setting. And even though my suspicions about the identity of the killer were correct, I enjoyed watching Jax and Abby's journey to the solution. 

Favorite Quote:

"How long have you worked for Terry?" Jax said.

"Couple of years."

"Good guy to work for?"

"Checks don't bounce."

Not a ringing endorsement. Did his own deputies think the same of him?

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Snow Place for Murder by Diane Kelly

Snow Place for Murder
Author: Diane Kelly
Series: Mountain Lodge Mysteries (Book 3)
Publication: St. Martin's Paperbacks (October 24, 2023)

Description: The third in the charming and engrossing Mountain Lodge mystery series by Diane Kelly, in Snow Place for Murder, the weather at the Mountaintop Lodge is truly frightful…

International resort developer Nigel Goodwin has traveled all the way from London, England to Misty Murphy’s little corner of North Carolina and bought out the Mountaintop Lodge for the week prior to Christmas. Their intention? To pitch an exclusive new resort concept to wealthy American investors.

But locals are at odds over the idea, and when a group comes to the lodge to express their worries to Mr. Goodwin and the potential investors, a blizzard hits Beech Mountain. Like the weather outside, things quickly get frosty, and Misty has to call local police to intervene. Handyman Rocky Crowder plows the lodge’s drive and, in an attempt to regain a jovial holiday atmosphere, smooths the snow pile into a makeshift sledding hill for the guests to enjoy.

Misty’s boys have finished their exams and are “home” from college for the winter break, planning to spend most of their time snowboarding at the ski resort. While taking a few runs down Rocky’s sledding hill, they discover a funny-looking, nose-shaped rock. Only it’s not a rock. It’s the frozen nose of Nigel Goodwin, who’s found dead and buried under the mound of snow.

Who put the developer on ice and why?

My Thoughts: Misty Murphy has rented out her Mountaintop Lodge to international developer Nigel Goodwin the week before Thanksgiving as he pitches a new resort to investors. Misty isn't sure that she is in favor of the new resort and quite a number of the townspeople are also opposed to it.

When Goodwin is found dead at the base of a sliding hill at the Lodge, it is first thought to be a tragic accident. However, when the medical examiner determines that he was murdered, Misty finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation again.

There is a large pool of suspects from the victim's wife to his assistant to the various investors to the disgruntled townspeople. It will take all of the police and Misty's actions to find the murderer. 

I liked the setting. I liked Misty's determination to make a new start after her amicable divorce. I liked her new relationship with Rocky. I liked her relationship with her almost grown sons and with Rocky's daughters too. I also liked chapters told from Misty's spoiled cat Yeti who has her own unique viewpoint about all the activities at the lodge.

This was an entertaining story which manages to discover the murderer and tie up all the loose plot threads before it is finished. 

Favorite Quote:

Both Jack Jr. and Mitch were tall and lean, like their father, but they had my dark hair, hazel eyes, and pale freckled skin. J.J. rushed over and reached for Yeti. I tried not to be jealous that my boys seemed more excited to see the cat than they were to see their mother, but I wasn't successful. "What am I? Chopped liver?"

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Audiobook Review: The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog by Elizabeth Peters

The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog
Author: Elizabeth Peters
Narrator: Barbara Rosenblatt
Series: Amelia Peabody (Book 7)
Publication: Recorded Book (June 4, 2004)
Length: 15 hours and 15 minutes

Description: This adventure transports Amelia Peabody and her husband Emerson to Amarna, the rustic desert site where the two archaeologists first met, beginning the 13-year association that would take them from mayhem to murder in the Egyptian outback.

For the first time in many years, Ramses chooses not to accompany his parents on their yearly excavation. At the tender age of 11, Ramses has fallen in love. The object of his affection is 13-year-old Nefret, the auburn-haired beauty the Emersons rescued from the clutches of the ancient city of Napata, now safe in England where the needlessly solicitous Ramses can keep a watchful eye on her. Ramses' new obsession does not deter him from putting in his two cents worth, however, in a series of lengthy epistles to Egypt, containing enough elaborate syntax and romantic ardor to stretch his mother's patience to the very breaking point.

Her son's budding affaire de coeur reminds Amelia of her once-tumultuous romance with Emerson. She is hopeful that their time alone together will rekindle old flames. But every confidence meets with disaster when Emerson is ambushed, kidnapped, and severely wounded on the road to Luxor. Rescued, and squirming under Amelia's gentle ministrations, Emerson wastes little time in recovering his irascible nature, but to Amelia's dismay, he seems to have no recollection of who she is!

Now, both past and future are in jeopardy as Amelia attempts to locate Emerson's attackers; prevent his disclosure of an important artifact relating to Nefret's security; and renew feelings in him that appear as remote as a Pharaoah's tomb.

My Thoughts: In this seventh Amelia Peabody adventure, Amelia and Emerson travel to Egypt without Ramses who has chosen to stay at home because Nefret is remaining there. But Amelia and Emerson don't need Ramses to get in trouble.

It seems that there is a villain who doesn't believe that they do not know the way to the untold treasures they discovered in the Nubian desert and is willing to find the information any way he can. When attempts to kidnap Amelia are foiled, he switches his focus to Emerson.

Emerson is captured and Amelia must go to his rescue. With Abdullah's help, she finds him and mounts a rescue only to discover that Emerson has lost his memory. He can remember his early days in Egypt but all memory of Amelia and the life they have build together is gone. 

As Amelia tries to bring back his memory and his love for her, she is assisted by Cyrus Vandergelt who, while helping her, is trying to further an agenda of his own. 

The story is filled with action and adventure almost all narrated by the unique voice of Amelia who has her own interpretations of the actions of the other characters in the story. Long letters from Ramses detailing the activities back home in England bring his voice to the story too. 

It took me a while to get used to Barbara Rosenblatt as the new narrator of this series. A first I thought that her voice was too "fruity" and too old. However, I did like the voices she chose for Emerson and Ramses and got used to her version of Amelia. 

I got this one via Audible Plus. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Fatal Folio by Elizabeth Penney

The Fatal Folio
Author: Elizabeth Penney
Series: The Cambridge Bookshop (Book 3)
Publication: Minotaur Books (October 24, 2023)

Description: In the third in Elizabeth Penney's delightful Cambridge Bookshop series, The Fatal Folio, Molly Kimball is learning that every killer has a story…

After moving to Cambridge, England, Molly Kimball has found a lot to love, including―of course―her family’s ancestral bookshop, Thomas Marlowe-Manuscripts and Folios. And though she’s not quite ready to use the “L” word when it comes to her boyfriend Kieran, she’s definitely fallen for his intimidating family’s library.

His family is paying her handsomely for an updated catalog when Molly discovers the original manuscript of a Gothic novel, A Fatal Folio by the pseudonymous Selwyn Scott. Kieran’s cousin Oliver, a professor specializing in Gothic literature, is eager to publish a paper on the mystery―especially because a troublesome student, Thad, is threatening to file a complaint against him and prevent his long-awaited promotion.

On Guy Fawkes Night, Molly, Kieran, and her friends set out to enjoy the costumes, fireworks, and fun―at least until a stray firework starts a panic, and the group stumbles upon a prone body, their face covered by a mask. It’s Thad, and he’s been stabbed to death.

It soon becomes clear Oliver isn’t the only one with a motive, and Molly must once again put on a few masks of her own to sleuth out Thad’s killer, prove Oliver’s innocence, and discover what Selwyn’s novel might have to do with this most atmospheric mystery…

My Thoughts: Molly Kimball is settling well into her new life as a part-owner of a Cambridge bookstore that has been in her family for generations. Her new boyfriend Kieran's noble family has hired her to update the catalog for their family library and Molly is looking forward to seeing what treasures the collection holds.

She does know that the family holds the original manuscript for A Fatal Folio by Selwyn Scott - a pseudonymous member of the family. The story is a gem of Gothic literature and will be featured at the conference on Gothic literature to be held at the home and organized by Kieran's cousin Oliver who is hoping to use the conference to cement his promotion to full professor at his Cambridge college. But complaints by Thad, one of his graduate students, threatens to scuttle his chances.

When Molly, Kieran and some of their friends stumble onto Thad's body while going to a meet-up with Oliver, Molly gets involved in the case. Kieran wants her to help clear his cousin's name but Molly isn't quite so sure of his innocence. And then the manuscript of The Fatal Folio is stolen...

Molly is researching the identity of Selwyn Scott and discovers that there might be a second manuscript by Selwyn Scott. She's hunting for it and for a murderer. She has lots of suspects as she learns that Thad was almost universally disliked.

Interspersed with the modern story is the text of The Fatal Folio which was entertaining. I enjoyed this cozy mystery with its lovely setting and modern and book-loving main character. 

Favorite Quote:

For a long moment, I stared at the long-lost manuscript, silently gloating. Well, silently between sneezes. The ancient dust was horrible on my sinuses.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.