Book and Audio Review: A Stranger in Town by Kelley Armstrong

A Stranger in Town
Author: Kelley Armstrong

Narrator: Therese Plummer
Series: Casey Duncan (Book 6)
Publication: Macmillan Audio (Feb. 9, 2021); Minotaur Books; 1st edition (February 9, 2021)

Length: 10 hours and 46 minutes; 359 p.

Description: In the next riveting thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, the paranoia increases – along with the stakes – as the town of Rockton tries to solve the latest mystery at their door.

Detective Casey Duncan has noticed fewer and fewer residents coming in to the hidden town of Rockton, and no extensions being granted. Her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, presumes it’s the natural flux of things, but Casey’s not so sure. It seems like something bigger is happening in the small town they call home.

When an injured hiker stumbles from the woods, someone who seems to have come to the Yukon for a wilderness vacation but instead is now fighting for her life, it’s all hands on deck. What – or who – attacked this woman, and why?

With the woman unconscious, and no leads, Casey and Eric don’t know where the threat is coming from. Plus, the residents of their deeply secretive town are uneasy with this stranger in their midst. Everyone in Rockton wants this mystery solved – and fast.

My Thoughts: This is the sixth Rockton novel starring Casey and Eric Dalton. Problems start when an injured woman wanders into town. She cut and battered and only semi-conscious. Also, she's not speaking English. Luckily, a new resident in town named Jay just happens to speak the Danish the victim is speaking.

It looks like an attack by the hostiles who are causing more and more trouble for the residents of Rockton. The board that manages Rockton isn't taking the danger seriously but the members of the First Settlement are. They are demanding that Casey and Eric do something.

Eric, Casey and Casey's big Newfoundland Storm head out to try to find the site where the woman was attacked and discover body parts which also look like remnants of a hostiles attack. They aren't sure that they have found all the victims of the attack. 

Next, some local traders sell Casey and Eric some bodies they found. These settlers also look like victims of a hostiles attack but April's autopsy discovers that they were actually shot and the wounds disguised to make it look like the hostiles did it. One problem is that they were shot with pistols which are almost unknown in the area. The settlers, traders, and hostiles have rifles if they have any firearms at all. 

Then Emilie who is one of the original founders and currently on the board arrives unexpectedly. She has some information about the hostiles and about the fate of Rockton that answers questions Casey has had since she arrived there. We finally find out how the hostiles were created but the fate of Rockton is left hanging at the end of this book.

I enjoyed the action in this story. I liked Casey's investigation. I also liked seeing her relationship with her sister April. Some of Casey's insecurity about her talents is resolving itself as these books go on 

This was a combination read/listen experience. I thought Therese Plummer did a good job with the narration. The voices were distinct and the pacing was well done. 

Favorite Quote:

Petra egged me on and tossed clues my way. She patted me on the head when I got one right, all the while certain I'd never get the whole thing, but gosh, I was so adorable to watch, wasn't I?

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

Friday Memes: A Stranger in Town by Kelley Armstrong

 Happy Friday everybody!

Book Beginnings on Friday is now 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.

Beginning:

As we hitch our horses to a lodgepole pine, shouts and laughter float over on the night breeze. Teenagers partying in the forest.

Friday 56:

I end up telling Jay that the woman isn't from Rockton. I must. If he's going to translate, I can't keep pretending she's a local and expecting useful information.

This week I am spotlighting A Stranger in Town by Kelley Armstrong. This is the newest in the Casey Duncan thriller series. Here is the description from Amazon:

In the next riveting thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, the paranoia increases – along with the stakes – as the town of Rockton tries to solve the latest mystery at their door.

Detective Casey Duncan has noticed fewer and fewer residents coming in to the hidden town of Rockton, and no extensions being granted. Her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, presumes it’s the natural flux of things, but Casey’s not so sure. It seems like something bigger is happening in the small town they call home.

When an injured hiker stumbles from the woods, someone who seems to have come to the Yukon for a wilderness vacation but instead is now fighting for her life, it’s all hands on deck. What – or who – attacked this woman, and why?

With the woman unconscious, and no leads, Casey and Eric don’t know where the threat is coming from. Plus, the residents of their deeply secretive town are uneasy with this stranger in their midst. Everyone in Rockton wants this mystery solved – and fast.

ARC Review: Love Scenes by Bridget Morrissey

Love Scenes
Author: Bridget Morrissey
Publication: Berkley (June 22, 2021)

Description: Acting like she's in love with her handsome nightmare of a co-star--in a movie directed and produced by her complicated Hollywood royalty family--is Sloane's job. But what happens when the lines between script and reality get blurred?

Out-of-work actress Sloane Ford is in desperate need of something to do after losing her steady TV gig. When her famous family ropes her into working as a producer on their World War II-era romance, they neglect to mention that the film will be headlined by Joseph Donovan, her least favorite former co-star of all time. The roguish actor made her life a living hell the last time they worked together, using his movie star good looks and Irish charm to cover for his erratic professional behavior. On their new film set, he promises he's different now, but Sloane is far from convinced.

As filming gets underway, it becomes clear that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. When the lead actress is abruptly fired, Sloane agrees to step in and take over the role, and she starts to remember why she fell in love with acting in the first place. On camera, she and Joseph share an electric chemistry. Off camera, they've been honing their characters and, much to Sloane's surprise, growing closer. But playing the role of a woman in love with Joseph Donovan is a dangerous business, and the more time they spend together, the less Sloane can tell what's real between them, and what's just for show.

My Thoughts: This romance was an entertaining story about enemies turned to friends and lovers. Sloane Ford is one of a famous Hollywood family. Her parents are both actors though her mother has turned to producing in recent years. Both have remarried which has extended the family by her parents' current and former spouses. Her sister is a budding director. Her brother is a composer. Sloane, herself, is a working actress. However, she was just written off the television series she'd been starring in for three years and her ex-boyfriend has just dropped an album that contains songs about her which don't paint her in a positive light.

Her family is involved in making a movie which is a romance set during World War II. She had been asked to take the starring role but turned it down because of her TV series. Of course, she would have turned it down anyway because Joseph Donovan has been hired to star in the drama. She and Donovan made a movie a few years earlier that almost made Sloane give up acting. Donovan was a major pain during the whole production and Sloane would be glad never to work with him again.

But Joseph Donovan has changed. He's having some trouble working with the actress who is his co-star and her mother, the producer, has tasked Sloane with helping him learn his lines and improve his acting. At first, she's not willing to forgive him despite the changes he has made in his life. They gradually get closer together though Sloane is the one who drags her feet and is not ready to trust him again.

When the actress who is playing the lead is fired, Sloane is drafted to take over the role. Despite all of her acting experience, lines get blurred between the romance they are filming and the one that is building in real life. It doesn't help that Sloane also has to deal with her family who all want the best for her and are sure what that is even without consulting Sloane.

I loved the family dynamics and the strong relationships within the large blended family. I liked that the romance grew naturally and realistically. I really liked both Sloane and Joseph as characters.

Favorite Quote:

There's a persistent ache in my chest I've come to know well. Anxiety, my most unwelcome friend. It usually comes with no obvious explanation, a powerful trickster who likes to surprise me when life seems good, staying as long as it pleases, leaving without fanfare but with the lingering promise that it will return when I least expect it. This time, it's different. The correlation is obvious.

This goddamn movie. 

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

Book and Audio Review: After Glow by Jayne Castle

After Glow
Author: Jayne Castle

Narrator: Joyce Bean

Series: Ghost Hunters (Book 2)
Publication: Berkley (February 24, 2004); Brilliance Audio (July 1, 2009)
Length: 343 p.; 9 hours and 31 minutes

Description: Return to Harmony—where nothing is as it seems.

Life is complicated for Lydia Smith. She’s working at a tacky, third-rate museum, Shrimpton’s House of Ancient Horrors, trying to salvage her career in para-archaeology—and dating the most dangerous man in town. Just when she thinks she might be getting things under control, she stumbles over a dead body and discovers that her lover has a secret past that could get him killed. Just to top it off, there’s trouble brewing underground in the eerie, glowing green passageways of the Dead City.

Descending into these twisting catacombs, Lydia will learn just what it’s like to put her heart—and life—on the line…

My Thoughts: Lydia Smith is still working at Shrimpton's and trying to build her career as a consultant. She's dating Emmett London despite the fact that he's a former hunter turned business consultant. Lydia has found a rich new client who wants her to find artifacts to decorate his new development. But she is still trying to find out what happened during her "lost weekend" when she spent 48 hours lost in the catacombs under Cadence City.

When an old colleague contacts her saying he has some information about the time that she lost, Lydia is quick to go see him. Only she arrives too late and she finds his body. She immediately calls the police but there are suspicions of her involvement since she had recently found another body. When she and Emmett return to the scene of the crime, they find a carefully hidden clue but it isn't clear what the clue is supposed to tell them.

Then Mercer Wyatt is shot and Emmett is chosen to take over temporary control of the Cadence City Guild. This causes all sorts of conflicts between Lydia and Emmett because Lydia still blames Guild hunters for abandoning her in the catacombs which led to her lost weekend and losing her job as a para-archaeologist. 

Things get even worse when someone tries to kill Emmett by setting a large green ghost on him. And there is a plot that someone wants to challenge him to a hunter duel to take control of the Guild. This leads to Lydia proposing a Marriage of Convenience to Emmett so that she can protect him from being challenged to a duel. 

Now, Emmett wants to marry Lydia but he would prefer the more permanent Covenant Marriage and he would prefer that Lydia is marrying him because she loves him, not just because she wants to protect him. 

This story is science fiction lite. Twentieth Century Earth culture and most technology is just dumped onto the planet of Harmony. There are additions though. The residents are gaining psychic powers as the generations go on and there are alien ruins that provide all sorts of mysteries for scientists and treasure hunters to discover. And there are dust bunnies. Fuzz makes his second appearance in this story as someone who has adopted Lydia and who has a number of paranormal talents of his own including his psychic bond with Lydia which lets him find her when she's lost in the catacombs. Dust bunnies are small, six-legged and four-eyed creatures that look a lot like a ball of dryer lint. They are predators who are quite protective of the humans they adopt.

This was a fun paranormal romance which was also a mystery. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Joyce Bean did a nice job with the different character voices and the pacing of the story. 

Favorite Quote:

"Don't act dense."

"Sorry, but it's not an act. I feel dense at the moment. I'm also real tired of playing guessing games. Why don't you tell me why you're crying?  Keep it simple. Short sentences and no more than two syllables, okay? After all, I'm a hunter, remember? I don't do big words."

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

Audiobook Review: The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

The Beekeeper's Apprentice
Author: Laurie R. King

Narrator: Jenny Sterlin
Series: Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes Book 1
Publication: Macmillan Audio (January 10, 2014)
Length: 13 hours and 26 minutes

Description: This program includes a preface read by the author.

From New York Times best-selling author Laurie R. King comes the book that introduced us to the ingenious Mary Russell - Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees when a young woman literally stumbles into him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes - and match him wit for wit. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern 20th-century woman proves a deft protégée and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective.

In their first case together, they must track down a kidnapped American senator's daughter and confront a truly cunning adversary: a bomber who has set trip wires for the sleuths and who will stop at nothing to end their partnership.

Full of brilliant deductions, disguises, and dangers, this first book of the Mary Russell - Sherlock Holmes mysteries is "wonderfully original and entertaining...absorbing from beginning to end." (Booklist). Named "One of the Century's Best 100 Mysteries" by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.

My Thoughts: This story begins when orphaned, fifteen-year-old Mary Russell literally stumbles over Sherlock Holmes while she is out walking and reading. It narrates the growth of their friendship as she becomes his unofficial apprentice and grows into his partner.

Mary is very bright and intending to attend university to study both religion and chemistry. She is the daughter of a Jewish mother and a Christian father from California. She is an heiress currently under the guardianship of an aunt who dislikes her and is indifferent to her care. She finds a home where she is accepted, cared for, and loved with Sherlock Holmes and Mrs. Hudson.

This story talks about her early cases from discovering who stole the cashbox and some hams from a pub her farm manager's lady friend owns to the kidnapping of an American Senator's six-year-old daughter to attacks from a secret adversary who uses bombs and bullets to try to murder Sherlock and any of his friends. 

I enjoyed this different view of Sherlock Holmes in his country retirement but who hasn't stopped all investigations. It was intriguing to see him through the eyes of a modern young woman who is his match in intellect though lacking his training and exeperience.

I loved the setting and time period. Mary and Sherlock's adventures take place in the shadow of World War I and see them traveling to the Holy Land to get away from their English villain and also solve a problem for Sherlock's brother Mycroft. The descriptions and Mary's reactions to her times in the Holy Land were very vivid. 

Jenny Sterlin had a great voice for Mary but was somewhat too soprano to handle Sherlock as well despite the textual information that his voice was higher than the average male. However, she manages to do a very good job with the emotions and attitudes of the characters. The pacing was excellent and the mysteries compelling. 

This was an excellent introduction to characters who have appeared in seventeen books now that CASTLE SHADE has been released. It is a wonderful series filled with great historical detail, actual historical figures, and mysteries surrounding them which enable Mary and Sherlock to shine.

Favorite Quote:

His words were placid, but what lay beneath them shook me breathless, for what he was proposing would in another man be sheer recklessness. Holmes the painstaking, Holmes the thoughtful, calculating thinker, Holmes the solitary operator who never so much as consulted another for advice, this Holmes I thought I knew was now proposing to launch himself into the abyss, trusting absolutely in my ability to catch him.

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

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (June 14, 2021)

 It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup.

Other Than Reading...

This past week was nice and summery until Friday which was rainy and foggy.

I baked bread for the first time in quite a while and tried out a new recipe. I needed a way to use up leftover beer can chicken and found a recipe for Chicken Tetrazzini. It was really bland even though I did tweak it to add some spices. Next time I'll add more spices and also add more liquid since I think it was good but could be improved. 

I also read and listened to a lot of good books. My favorite of the week was A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones. It was really good. I alternated between laughing out loud and crying. This is the second book in the series and the plot threads begun in the first book were advanced but with still some left dangling for another book in the series. 

I also set up my calendar for August and perused my TBR shelves to pick some forgotten books to fill out spaces around the review books on the calendar. 

Read Last Week

If you can't wait until the review shows up on my blog, reviews are posted to LibraryThing and Goodreads as soon as I write them (usually right after I finish reading a book.)

• Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz (Mine; Audiobook) -- I've had the Kindle version for a few years but just got the audiobook. It was an intense thriller with interesting characters. My review will be posted on July 10.
• Silence in the Library by Katharine Schellman (Review; July 15) -- Second historical mystery starring an upper class, young widow who solves crimes. My review will be posted on July 8.
• Fatal Family Ties by S. C. Perkins (Review; July 20) -- A genealogist gets involved in a murder investigation and theft of an valuable painting when she tries to prove that one of her co-workers ancestors was not a deserter in the Civil war. My review will be posted on July 14.

• Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters (Mine; Audiobook) -- This was a reread and first listen of the first book in the Amelia Peabody historical mystery series. It was a lot of fun. My review will be posted on July 20.
• Last Guard by Nalini Singh (Review; July 20) -- The is the latest in the Psy-Changeling Trinity series and introduces two new Psy characters and a new designation of Psy. It was a great romance and great urban fantasy story. My review will be posted on July 15.
• Storm Watcher by Maria V. Snyder (mine and currently out of print) -- I bought this YA title in March of 2014. The main character is a boy who is dealing with grief at the loss of his mother, his fear of storms, and his conflicts with his older brothers and father. I liked the information about dog training and search and rescue dogs. My review will be posted on July 17.

• Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop (Audiobook) -- Reread.
• A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones (Review; July 27) -- This was an emotional roller coaster of a book with lots of different plots woven together. It had great characters and very witty banter. My review will be posted on July 22.
• Part-Time Gods by Rachel Aaron (Mine; Audiobook) -- This is the middle book of an urban fantasy series with dragons and gods and a young woman who has all sorts of issues with her dragon dad. My review will be posted on July 21.

Currently

• The Bookman's Promise by John Dunning (Mine since September, 2015)
• Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop (Audiobook reread)

Next Week

• Cursed Luck by Kelley Armstrong (Mine)
• Bad Scene by Max Tomlinson (Review; August 3)
• Murder Most Fowl by Donna Andrews (Review; August 3)

• Death in Castle Dark by Veronica Bond (Review; August 3)
• Cajun Kiss of Death by Ellen Byron (Review; August 10)
• Paper & Blood by Kevin Hearne (Review; August 10)

Reviews Posted

• Ruby Red Herring by Tracy Gardner
• Castle Shade by Laurie R. King

• The Abduction of Pretty Penny by Leonard Goldberg
• Beyond the Headlines by R. G. Belsky

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Review:

• Down a Dark River by Karen Odden (November 9)
• Death on the Shelf by Allison Brook (November 9)

• Guild Boss by Jayne Castle (November 16)
• Renewed for Murder by Victoria Gilbert (December 7)

Bought:

• Moving Is Murder by Sara Rosett (Kindle Deal)

What was your week like?

ARC Review: Beyond the Headlines by R. G. Belsky

Beyond the Headlines
Author: R. G. Belsky
Series: Clare Carlson (Book 4)
Publication: Oceanview Publishing (May 4, 2021)

Description: She was a mega-celebrity—he was a billionaire businessman—now he’s dead—she’s in jail

Laurie Bateman was living the American dream. Since her arrival as an infant in the U.S. after the fall of Saigon, the pretty Vietnamese girl had gone on to become a supermodel, a successful actress, and, finally, the wife of one of the country’s top corporate dealmakers. That dream has now turned into a nightmare when she is arrested for the murder of her wealthy husband.

New York City TV journalist Clare Carlson does an emotional jailhouse interview in which Bateman proclaims her innocence—and becomes a cause celebre for women’s rights groups around the country.

At first sympathetic, then increasingly suspicious of Laurie Bateman and her story, Clare delves into a baffling mystery which has roots extending back nearly fifty years to the height of the Vietnam War.

Soon, there are more murders, more victims, and more questions as Clare struggles against dire evil forces to break the biggest story of her life.

My Thoughts: Clare Carlson is the News Director for New York City's Channel 10 but she had a past in reporting for newspapers. She's won Pulitzers and solved some mysteries along the way. As a person, she is thrice divorced and has trail of failed relationships and exes behind her. She is definitely a workaholic which is currently getting in the way of building a relationship with her daughter and granddaughter.

She gets a chance to interview a major celebrity named Laurie Bateman who is married to billionaire Charles Hollister. But before the interview can take place, Laurie is found with the body of her husband who just happens to have been shot with her gun. He was getting ready to divorce her and rewrite his will which currently left her the majority of his estate. 

Clare does get a jailhouse interview with Laurie who throws a bombshell when she accuses her dead husband of emotional and physical abuse. She immediately becomes the focus of the #metoo movement and gains all sorts of public support. Clare is sure that Laurie is innocent even though the all the evidence points to her as the murderer. 

Clare immediately begins to look into who else might have a reason to murder Charles Hollister and she finds lots of suspects. He has a mistress with a jealous ex. He has a son who is a major screw-up with delusions that he is competent. He has a number of business rivals who have reasons to want him dead. 

However, Clare has a chance of heart about her belief in Laurie's innocence when her plea at her hearing is cribbed from one of her early movie roles. Clare decides to look into her past. Laurie was born in Vietnam and managed to escape with her mother when things were falling apart at the end of the war. It just so happens that Charles and his business partner were also in Vietnam as the US was withdrawing. 

Clare learns at lot while she is looking into Laurie's past and it gives her an excuse to put off looking into her own past. Her daughter has told her that she has inherited a breast cancer gene and urges Clare to be tested to see if the gene came from her or if it came from the man Clare had a one-night stand with while a college sophomore. If it didn't come from her, Clare feels that she will have to contact the man's family to let them know about the gene. 

Clare is also between relationships in this episode though two of her exes to have small roles to play. Clare is also looking at a potential career change when a headhunting firm from LA has approached her to star in a new talk show that is in the works. 

This was a very contemporary mystery with a "ripped from the headlines" feel to it. I liked the look into big city news organizations. 

Favorite Quote:

I'd run a long way to get away from the memories of m past.

But not far enough.

The past always catches up with you.

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