ARC Review: Beyond Her Reach by Melinda Leigh

Beyond Her Reach
Author: Melinda Leigh
Series: Bree Taggert (Book 10)
Publication: Montlake (September 16, 2025)

Description: In the wake of a woman’s savage murder, the suspects and motives are only mounting for Sheriff Bree Taggert in a twisting novel of suspense by #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh.

In a quiet suburban neighborhood in upstate New York, single mom Kelly Gibson is slain in her home—the victim of a rage killing. Right away, Sheriff Bree Taggert has three persons of interest: an angry soon-to-be ex-husband, a furtive rebound boyfriend, and an obsessive neighbor.

But as Bree and investigator Matt Flynn work together to narrow the field, there’s a shocking twist in the case: a second woman is murdered in the same brutal fashion.

While investigating, Bree is attacked and left for dead. When another woman is kidnapped, Bree and Matt must act quickly to unravel the deceptions in Kelly’s life and death and find a killer before someone else dies.

My Thoughts: The tenth Bree Taggert mystery has her investigating the brutal murder of a woman in her home in upstate New York. Kelly Gibson was in the middle of a divorce and a home renovation project when her throat was slit by a box cutter. 

Bree and her live-in and part time investigator Matt Flynn quickly identify three potential suspects. The almost-ex-husband who wanted her to sell the house so that he could start a new life with her replacement is a good candidate. So is the guy she met on a dating app. Then there is the overly interested and possibly stalkerish guy who lives across the street. 

As Bree and Matt investigate, they are also dealing with Matt's sister's impending birth which will put Bree's chief deputy on the sidelines since he's the father. Then there's Turbo who is supposed to be in training as a police dog but who is already an accomplished escape artist with lots and lots of energy.

Bree has her favorite suspect, but another woman is murdered in the same way as Kelly while she is interviewing him. They only thing the two women seem to have in common is that both dated the same potential suspect who also has an airtight alibi.

Then Bree is attacked by having a concrete block dropped on her patrol car and having the car run over a strip which blows out her tires. Only the presence of Turbo saves her when the potential killer comes to finish her off. 

The case finally comes together when a third woman is kidnapped.

This was an excellent addition to the series. I love the relationship between Bree and Matt. The side characters are also interesting people. 

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

Audiobook Review: Die Like an Eagle by Donna Andrews

Die Like an Eagle
Author: Donna Andrews
Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Series: Megs Langslow Mystery (Book 20)
Publication: Dreamscape Media (August 2, 2016)
Length: 8 hours and 46 minutes

Description: Meg is Team Mom, and Michael is coach of their twin sons' youth baseball team, the Caerphilly Eagles. Meg tangles with Biff Brown, the petty, vindictive league head. On opening day Biff's lookalike brother is found dead in the porta-potty at the ball field. So many people think Biff's scum that it would be easy to blame him, but he has an alibi - and Meg suspects he may actually have been the intended victim.

With Die Like an Eagle, listeners can look forward to another zany Meg Langslow mystery - this one filled with the spirit of America's pastime and Donna's eagle eye.

My Thoughts: Die Like an Eagle is the 20th book in the Meg Langslow Mystery series. This time it centers around the great game of baseball. Meg and Michael's twins are in a coach-pitch summer league and having lots of fun. 

But Biff Brown who is the league head isn't making it fun for the parents. From crazy rules to restricted practice times to a poorly maintained field and facilities, those who aren't already intimidated by Biff's vindictive tactics are afraid to make any moves against him. 

Meg is already looking for Biff to discuss town business since his construction company is supposed to be rehabbing the town square before the next local holiday. Her calls and emails are going unanswered, and she is getting very frustrated with him.

When a body is discovered in Biff's noxious porta potty at the ball field, Meg at first thinks it's Biff. Turns out that it is Biff's lookalike half-brother and frequent game umpire who is the victim. But who would want him dead when Biff has so many enemies?

Meg has to track down the killer if she wants the Founders' Day baseball tournament to go on. And she has to track down Biff to get him to fulfill his contract with the city or step aside so someone else can do the job. 

This was another excellent entry into the long-running series filled with the usual eccentrics and the usual humor. 

I bought this one as a Kindle book November 21, 2024. The Chirp audiobook was on sale for $2.99 when I bought it on August 16. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: A Murderous Business by Cathy Pegau

A Murderous Business
Author: Cathy Pegau
Series: A Harriman & Mancini Mystery (Book 1)
Publication: Minotaur Books (September 16, 2025)

Description: A sharp, captivating historical mystery about two queer women in turn-of-the-century New York, for fans of Lavender House and A Most Agreeable Murder

There can be a blurry line between what is ethical and what is legal.

Margot Baxter Harriman took the reins of B&H Foods after her father passed. It’s not easy being a business woman in 1912, but she is determined to continue what her grandparents started decades ago, no matter what it takes.

So when Margot finds Mrs. Gilroy, her father’s former assistant, dead in the office with a half-finished note confessing to nebulous misdeeds at B&H, she seeks out help from a very discreet, private investigator to figure out what's going on. Her company, and her good name, are at stake if scandal breaks...and she could lose everything, including her freedom.

Loretta “Rett” Mancini has run her father’s investigation operation since he started becoming increasingly forgetful. When Margot offers her the chance to look into the potential scandal with B&H, she jumps at it.

But the more the two dig in, the more it becomes clear that Margot's company may be too far lost...and someone is willing to kill them both to keep things quiet.

Charming and witty, Cathy Pegau's A Murderous Business is perfect for fans of Lev Ac Rosen, Enola Holmes by Nancy Springer, and the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney mysteries by Claudia Gray.

My Thoughts: This historical mystery set in 1912 pairs Margot Baxter Harriman and Loretta "Rett" Mancini. Margot has inherited her father's food canning company and is trying to run it despite the opposition she faces from her male Board of Directors. When she comes upon the body of her father's retired assistant Mrs. Gilroy who died in the middle of writing a note confessing to unnamed offenses, Margot looks for a discrete investigator to find out what is going on.

Rett is her father's assistant in a detective agency. She's assumed more and more responsibility as her father's forgetfulness has increased. When Margot comes to her, she takes the case and decides not to tell her father about it. 

They quickly uncover secrets including a safe deposit box filled with cash when they begin their investigations. Only they don't know what crime the deceased Mrs. Gilroy was covering up. They discover some fraud where fake employees claim and are reimbursed for fictitious injuries. But the note said "death" and the fraud scheme has no deaths attached to it. 

Then the blackmailing food inspector comes to call. Mrs. Gilroy's death ended his financial windfall and he wants it resumed. Before Margot can decide what to do about the blackmail, the food inspector is found bound and shot in the river. Since Margot was the last to see him and was arguing with him too, the police are interested in her whereabouts at the time of the murder. 

Margot's alibi lies in the fact that she had been with Rett, Rett's girlfriend, and a new friend Shiloh with whom Margot spent the night. This is not something a woman in 1912 is eager to share. Scandal could bring down the company she's trying to save just as much as the unnamed crimes Mrs. Gilroy mentioned. 

This was an entertaining historical mystery. I like that it is the first book in a new series. Both Margot and Rett are interesting characters trying to make their way in a world that doesn't give single women much room or many choices. 

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

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (September 8, 2025)

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.

Want to See What I Added to My Stack? links to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality.

Other Than Reading...

This was a nice first week in September despite the very chilly temperatures and rain. After high temperatures of 76 on Monday and 75 on Tuesday, high temperatures were in the fifties and even low 50s for the rest of the week. It is noon on Sunday, and the temperature is 55. The skies are sunny today. We did get over an inch of rain this week with most of it on Tuesday. 

My medical test on Friday was nice and easy. I am still waiting to hear from my doctor about the results. I did schedule my flu and Covid shots for this week. So, the medical stuff isn't finished. The shots are scheduled at my nearby clinic which is much easier for me to drive to. 

My brother has the week off. He already has plans for what he'll be cooking. We have no other plans for the week. I have baseball to watch as the season winds to a close. I also have a never-ending stack of books to read. 

The calendar is packed with October 14 review book releases. I'm also planning to keep listening to the Clare Ferguson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series as I get ready to read the new one in a couple of weeks. 

August Report

I read 36 books in August. Twenty were mine; sixteen were review copies. Of the twenty, sixteen were audiobooks including nine rereads. My reading totaled 12, 270 pages and 197 hours of listening. 

Coincidentally, I also added 36 books to my LibraryThing account in August. Eight were review copies and six were audiobooks. Twenty-four are still on TBR mountain. A few of them are on my October reading calendar in spots not needed for review books. 

Here is my State of the Stack report which I use to keep track of review books. 

Read Last Week

• The Librarians by Sherry Thomas (Review, September 30) -- Contemporary ensemble cast mystery filled with quirky characters. My review will be posted on September 23.
• All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz (Kindle and Audiobook, mine since August 21, 2025) -- Classic romantic suspense by a master. My review will be posted on September 27.
• The Killing Stones by Ann Cleaves (Review, September 30) -- First in a new series but with characters from other series. Mystery set in the Orkneys at Christmas time. My review will be posted on September 24.

• I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Chirp Audiobook, mine since January 4, 2024) -- Sixth in the Clare Feguson/Russ Van Alstyne mystery series. My review will be posted on October 2.
• Entranced by Nora Roberts (Chirp Audiobook, mine since May 12, 2025) -- Second in the Donovan Legacy paranormal romance series. My review will be posted on October 16.

• The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths (Mine since July 18, 2025) -- Second in the Harbinder Kaur mystery series. My review will be posted on September 30.
• Naked in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread) -- First in the In Death series. 
• Mirage City by Lev AC Rosen (Review, October 7) -- Fourth in the Evander "Andy" Mills historical mystery series. He's a gay PI in 1952 California. My review will be posted on October 2.

• Glory in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread) -- Second in the In Death series
• Immortal in Death by J. D. Robb (Audiobook Reread) -- Third in the In Death series

Currently

• The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson (Mine since January 6, 2025)
• One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Audible Plus)

Next Week

• Dying Cry by Margaret Mizushima (Review, October 14)
• And Then There Was The One by Martha Waters (Review, October 14)
• Death on a Scottish Train by Lucy Connelly (Review, October 14)

• Fallen Star by Lee Goldberg (Review, October 14)
• The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong (Review, October 14)
• And to All a Good Bite by David Rosenfelt (Review, October 14)

Reviews Posted

• Steadfast by Mercedes Lackey (Audiobook)
• River's End by Nora Roberts (Audiobook)
• The Deepest Cut by P. J. Tracy (Review copy)

• The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Audiobook)
• All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Review copy)
• Flash Point by Tracey Devlyn (Mine) 

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

Review:

• Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree (Review, November 11)
• Murder at Cottonwood Creek by Clara McKenna (Review, November 25)
• Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart (Review, January 13)

Bought:

• Listen to Me by Tess Gerritsen (BookBub, $1.99)
• White Night by Jim Butcher (BookBub, $2.99)
• Sweet Revenge by Nora Roberts (Kindle Daily Deal, $1.99)

• Demon's Bluff by Kim Harrison (BookBub, $1.99)
• Every Which Way but Dead by Kim Harrison (Kindle, $1.99)
• Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune (BookBub, $2.99)

What was your week like?

Audiobook Review: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Naturals
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Narrator: Amber Faith
Series: The Naturals (Book 1)
Publication: Little, Brown Young Readers (June 13, 2023)
Length: 7 Hours and 29 Minutes

Description: Cold cases are about to get hot. Don’t miss this exhilarating crime thriller—perfect for fans of Criminal Minds and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder—from Jennifer Lynn Barnes, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Inheritance Games.

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But, it's not a skill that she's ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they've begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn't realize is that there's more at risk than a few unsolved homicides—especially when she's sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms close. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

Think The Mentalist meets Pretty Little Liars—Jennifer Lynn Barnes's The Naturals is a gripping psychological thriller with killer appeal, a to-die-for romance, and the bones of a gritty and compelling new series.

My Thoughts: Cassie is a natural at reading people. She's also the daughter of a woman who was murdered and whose body disappeared. Taken in by her father's family, a father she barely knows, she is growing up in Colorado. She's approached to join a FBI unit composed of Naturals - people who are especially good at profiling and other arcane skills. 

Thinking that this would be a good opportunity to finally find the person who murdered her mother, she gets moved to Arlington, Virginia, and into a house with four other teens with special gifts. Lia knows if someone is lying. Sloane is talented at numbers, probability, and details. Michael is an expert at reading body language. And Dean is another natural profiler like Cassie. 

The program is supervised by FBI Special Agent Briggs and his partner Special Agent Locke who is also a profiler. Locke is the one most involved in Cassie's training. While the kids are getting to know each other and being trained, a serial killer is chalking up victims in the area. The serial killer seems to be mirroring Cassie's mother's death. 

Briggs wants to keep the kids out of the case since their mandate is to work on cold cases, but the killer has other ideas. Gifts to Cassie and Sloane all relate to Cassie's mother and draw her into the investigation despite Briggs trying to keep her out. 

The story introduces an interesting group of intriguing characters. Besides their unusual skills, all the kids have their own stresses and backstories. I enjoyed watching the characters interact and learning more about them. I could even get behind the love triangle that develops between Cassie, Michael and Dean. 

The story is creepy and twisty and compelling. 

I bought this one December 19, 2024. You can buy your copy here.

Friday Memes: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 Happy Friday!

Book Beginnings is hosted by Gillion at Rose City Reader. She asks that the first sentence is posted along with the author and title of the book and the reader's initial thoughts on the sentence, the book, or anything else it inspires. 

Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower.org also provides a linky for sharing first lines and connecting with others. This meme asks that the chosen books be PG or marked as Mature if they are not. 

Beginning:

The hours were bad. The tips were worse, and the majority of my coworkers definitely left something to be desired, but c'est la vie, que sera sera, insert foreign language cliche of your choice here.

Friday 56:

"Cassie it is, then," she replied. "Briggs tells me you're one of mine."

One of hers?

Michael filled in the blank. "A profiler."

This week I am spotlighting The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I've had the audiobook on my stack since December 19, 2024. I also bought the Kindle copy and the rest of the series recently. I vaguely remember reading this one when it was first published in 2013 but wanted to revisit it and read the rest of the series after it was brought to mind because of someone on my Facebook reels. 

Here is the description from Amazon:

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people, piecing together the tiniest details to know who a person is, and what they want. But it’s not a skill she takes seriously until the FBI come knocking—they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teens to crack infamous cold cases, and they want her to join.

What Cassie doesn't realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides. Sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own, she quickly realizes no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. Emotion-reader Michael is a wild card—and far too perceptive for Cassie’s good. The resident deception-detector is a pathological liar, and the program’s perky, blonde statistician is far better with numbers than with people. And then there’s Dean—a profiler like Cassie but with a much darker gift.
 
When a new killer strikes, danger looms close. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

Perfect for fans of Criminal Minds and Holly Jackson, Jennifer Lynn Barnes delivers a suspense-ridden psychological thriller with killer appeal, a love triangle to die for, and a gorgeous new design that will stand out on any shelf.

Audiobook Review: Steadfast by Mercedes Lackey

Steadfast
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Narrator: Carmela Corbett
Series: Elemental Masters (Book 8)
Publication: Audible Studios (June 4, 2013)
Length: 11 hours and 37 minutes

Description: The new novel in Mercedes Lackey’s best-selling series of an alternative Edwardian Britain, where magic is real - and Elemental Masters are in control.

Lionel Hawkins is a magician whose act is only partially sleight of hand. The rest is real magic. He’s an Elemental Magician with the power to persuade the Elementals of Air to help him create amazing illusions. It doesn’t take long before his assistant, acrobat Katie Langford, notices that he’s no ordinary magician - and for Lionel to discover that she’s no ordinary acrobat, but rather an untrained and unawakened Fire Magician. She’s also on the run from her murderous and vengeful brute of a husband. But can she harness her magic in time to stop her husband from achieving his deadly goal?

My Thoughts: STEADFAST is the eighth book in the Elementary Masters series. Katie Langford is on the run from her abusive husband, circus strongman Dick Langford. She finds her way to Brighton and a job as a magician's assistant in a music hall. 

Lionel Hawkins is her boss and an Elemental Magician with some control over air. The air elementals help make his act very magical. He realizes that Katie is an unawakened fire magician and along with Jack, the hall's doorman and army veteran and fire magician, they manage to convince Katie that her magic is real.

Katie's main focus is earning the money to divorce her abusive husband. Getting a chance to be a star act because the ballerina scheduled to start a turn defaulted for a better opportunity, she thinks she will soon be able to divorce and marry Jack who has become more than a friend. 

But Dick manages to track her down and begins as he had before with stealing the money she earned and beating her. Lionel and Jack don't know how to help Katie. But Katie is trying to help herself. She isn't going to put up with more abuse for any longer than it takes to think up a scheme to get rid of Dick.

This was an engaging historical fantasy based on the fairy tale of the tin soldier. Jack lost a leg in the Boer War and still suffers from guilt about the treatment of the Boers that he hated but could do nothing about. 

The characters were all interesting and well-developed. Carmela Corbett did an excellent job with the narration. 

I bought this one September 28, 2021. You can buy your copy here.

Book Review: Flash Point by Tracey Devlyn

Flash Point
Author: Tracey Devlyn
Series: Steel Ridge: The Blackwells (Book 1)
Publication: Steel Ridge Publishing (May 23, 2022)

Description: In this first book of Steele Ridge's exciting new series, The Blackwells, USA Today bestselling author Tracey Devlyn plunges readers into the dangerous world of asset recovery with this one-night stand, frenemies to lovers story between a burned out recovery agent and a single mom who leads the FBI's art crime cases.

A treasure hunter thought he had everything in his life firmly in hand until a chance encounter with a mysterious redhead tests the limits of his self-control.

When FBI Special Agent Olivia Westcott’s boss hands over her next assignment, she has an opportunity to retrieve a priceless artifact and shut down a high-profile drug scheme in one fell swoop. All Liv has to do is work with the lead recovery agent of Blackwell Asset Recovery Services—with whom she’d had a passionate one-night stand two weeks prior—and not let her feelings compromise the case.

Zeke Blackwell still struggles with running the family business after his older brother unexpectedly left him in charge. Now he has the added responsibility of keeping drugs off the streets of small towns across Western North Carolina and keeping his hands off the too-enticing special agent while they’re planning the joint operation. As if that’s not enough to keep him up at night, he’s also searching for a centuries-old treasure that could change the course of his and his family’s lives.

But what starts as a high-value asset recovery spirals out of control when their enemies force Liv and Zeke to stay one step ahead of danger. Is their attraction worth the risk? Or will they find themselves playing a game too dangerous to survive?

My Thoughts: This romantic suspense novel begins a new series within the Steel Ridge greater series. Zeke Blackwell leads his company which consists mainly of his brothers in asset recovery which essentially means that they steal stolen items to return to their original owners. 

Olivia Westcott is an FBI Special Agent who is in charge of art crimes. She's a widow with a nine-year-old son and a trust fund. In her spare time she is involved in rescuing abused women. 

Olivia and Zeke meet when they have a spicy one-night-stand while she is attending a conference and he is there to try to reconcile with his older brother who left the business for the FBI. Neither expects to meet again especially by being involved in the same case in which the FBI needs BARS to recover an asset that is needed to buy information about a major drug deal. 

Zeke is also on the hunt for a family heirloom that went missing many years earlier. He feels that the return of the sword will make things go well at BARS. He is lacking in confidence about his ability to run the business and sees it breaking up and breaking the relationship between him and his brothers. 

Meanwhile, Olivia is also dealing with a stalker who has attacked her and threatened her son. 

This was an engaging story and a nice romance. 

I bought this one July 24. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan

All This Could Be Yours
Author: Hank Phillippi Ryan
Publication: Minotaur Books (September 9, 2025)

Description: Is a debut author's blockbuster bestseller about to ruin her life? A glamorous book tour becomes a deadly cat-and-mouse chase in this new and captivating thriller by "master of suspense" (Publishers Weekly) and USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Debut sensation Tessa Calloway is on a whirlwind book tour for her instant bestseller, All This Could Be Yours. In a different city every night, Tessa receives standing ovations from adoring fans while her husband Henry and their two children cheer her on from their brand-new dream house.

But there's a chilling problem with Tessa's triumphant book tour―she soon discovers she is being stalked by someone who's obsessed not only with sabotaging her career, but also with destroying her perfect family back home.

Tessa fears the fallout from an impossible decision she once made―what felt like a genuine deal with the devil―appears to be coming due. And she’s realizing that every high-stakes bargain comes with a high-stakes price. If Tessa can't untangle who's threatening to expose her darkest secrets, she'll lose her career, her family―and possibly her life.

My Thoughts: Debut author Tessa Calloway is on an extensive book tour with her instant bestseller All This Could Be Yours when she begins to experience odd things. She finds a locket in a hotel room drawer with a picture inside. Being social media savvy, she posts and asks for help from her many followers in locating the owner of the locket. 

As she travels from one exhausting event to another, she begins to feel as if she is being stalked. Odd questions about her hometown and her teenage years are following her from city to city. She has a secret about those earlier years that not even her husband knows and her publisher certainly does not know. Tessa fears that the secret will come out and ruin her new career.

Meanwhile back at home, her husband Henry is settling into their new home with their two children and Tessa is feeling that she's losing track of what is going on with her family. She only spent one night in the new home before the book tour began and now Henry's making friends with the neighbors.

This was a tense and suspenseful thriller. I liked Tessa even when her author's imagination seemed to be magnifying the suspicious events. There was a great feeling of creepiness that permeated the story that sent some shivers up my spine as I was reading it. 

I recommend this story for those who attend author events and wonder about the author off the stage. 

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

Audiobook Review: River's End by Nora Roberts

River's End
Author: Nora Roberts
Narrator: Sandra Burr
Publication: Brilliance Audio (June 10, 2008)
Length: 14 hours and 10 minutes

Description: #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts presents a seductively suspenseful tale of one woman’s shattered innocence, the terrifying search for truth and a heart’s journey toward healing...

Olivia’s parents were among Hollywood’s golden couples - until the night a monster came and took her mother away forever. A monster with the face of her father...

Sheltered from the truth, an older Olivia only dimly recalls her night of terror - but her recurring nightmares make her realize she must piece together the real story. Now, assisted by Noah Brady, the son of the police detective who found her cowering in her closet so many years before, she may have her chance. Noah wants to reconstruct the night that has become an infamous part of Hollywood history. He also wants to help Olivia and heal the longing in her lonely heart. But once the door to her past is opened, there’s no telling what’s waiting on the other side. For somewhere, not too far away, the monster walks again...

My Thoughts: Olivia was only four when her mother, an actress, was brutally murdered. Her actor father was arrested and convicted of the crime. Olivia saw him holding the murder weapon and having hands covered with blood. Her video testimony went a long way toward convicting her father.

Olivia was taken by her grandparents to be raised at a resort in the Pacific Northwest. They put her in a bubble to protect her from the interest of those who want to write about or sensationalize the murder.

Noah Brady is the son of the police officer who found Olivia hiding in a closet. He met Olivia when his parents took him to the resort when Olivia was twelve. He was drawn to her but as a going-to-college teen they didn't really get to know each other.

Olivia and Noah met again when Olivia was nineteen and a college student studying to be a naturalist. Noah who had always been fascinated by the murder case was determined to leave his newspaper career and write a book about it. Olivia falls in love but feels betrayed when she learns Noah plans to write a book about a subject that is still painful to her and her family. 

Some years pass again until Noah, now a successful author of true crime books, is contacted by the person convicted of murdering Olivia's mother. He's dying of brain cancer and wants to tell his story. The main problem is that he was high and alcohol and drugs and doesn't know what truly happened the night his wife died.

Reconnecting with Olivia and her family is necessary if Noah wants his book to tell the whole story. He's never gotten over Olivia nor has she gotten over him. But someone doesn't want the story told and does a number of things including destroying Noah's home and attacking Noah's best friend to try to discourage the project.

This was another excellent Nora Roberts standalone romantic suspense title. It was full of suspense and had a nice amount of romance too. And it's set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

I bought this one September 15, 2021. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Deepest Cut by P. J. Tracy

The Deepest Cut
Author: P. J. Tracy
Series: A Monkeewrench Novel
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (September 9, 2025)

Description: The Monkeewrench team is back in a brand-new nail-biting thriller from New York Times bestselling author P. J. Tracy.

Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth arrest a sadistic pair of killers for the murder of several women with the help of Monkeewrench, their eccentric, cyber-sleuth friends and partners. One of the killers dies in custody and the other, Wolfgang Mauer, is sent to a maximum security mental hospital in a rural corner of Minnesota.

There, Mauer plots his escape–and his vengeance. With the help of his mother, a former militia leader and assassin living an extravagant, reclusive life, he schemes to get out of the mental hospital and hunt down the detectives and the Monkeewrench crew that got him a life sentence.

When Mauer successfully escapes, an inexperienced county sheriff is thrown head-first into a massive manhunt for the murderer. When she finds three bodies and discovers that Mauer has kidnapped a young boy, she realizes that Mauer’s escape was just the beginning. With many lives on the line, Magozzi, Gino, and Monkeewrench join in the desperate search effort. The longer he’s at large, the more people will die, and Mauer is on a mission to find those who sentenced him, so they all have targets on their backs.

My Thoughts: P. J. Tracy returns to the world of Monkeewrench in this thriller. Minneapolis homicide detective Leo Magozzi is getting ready to retire to spend more time with the woman he loves and the daughter he adores. Before that can happen, Magozzi and his partner Gino Rolseth get involved in the prison escape of a sadistic killer that they had put behind bars earlier. 

The killer is Mauer and Mauer has a plan. Recover the money he secreted away before he was caught and imprisoned and then kill the eight people on his hit lit that he most blames for his capture and imprisonment. He is more than willing to murder anyone who gets in the way of his plans. 

Since he escaped from a mental hospital/prison in a small, rural Minnesota county, the inexperienced sheriff and her deputies are drawn into the case. They are the ones who discover the first three bodies left in Mauer's wake and set law enforcement in action when Mauer kidnaps a ten-year-old boy. 

The story is told from multiple viewpoints. The Monkeewrench gang all appear and have their plans interrupted whether the plan is proposing to the woman they love or adding to their kick-ass fashion collection. The inexperienced sheriff's viewpoint is included. As is Magozzi's who is thinking that it might not be time to retire after all. And Mauer's viewpoint and that of some his villainous counterparts add chills to the narrative.

This was an engaging story. I love the relationship between Leo and Gino. The story was filled with interesting characters in a nail-biting plot. 

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

State of the Stack #168 (September 1, 2025)

This is my monthly post which details progress made on review books. I want to thank the authors and publishers who have contributed their books. 

Read This Month 

Dates indicate the date the review was/will be posted.

1. A Moment's Shadow by Anna Lee Huber (August 23)
2. Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley (August 26)
3. If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia (August 27)
4. Framed in Death by J. D. Robb (August 28)
5. The Deepest Cut by P. J. Tracy (September 2)
6. All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan (September 3)
7. A Murderous Business by Cathy Pegau (September 9)
8. Beyond Her Reach by Melinda Leigh (September 10)
9. No Rest for the Wicked by Rachel Louise Adams (September 11)
10. The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi (September 11)
11. Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen (September 16)
12. A Tour to Die For by Michelle Chouinard (September 16)
13. Murder at Blackwood Inn by Penny Warner (September 17)
14. You Make It Feel Like Christmas by Sophie Sullivan (September 18)
15. A Dark and Deadly Journey by Julia Kelly (September 18)
16. Dark Horse by Felix Francis (September 20)

DNF

1. The Princess and the P.I. by Nikki Payne (September 16)

Read Previously, Posted This Month 

Dates indicate when the review was posted.

1. For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews (August 2)
2. Picking Up the Pieces by J. B. Abbott (August 5)
3. Artificial Wisdom by Thomas R. Weaver (August 5)
4. The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan (August 6)
5. A Silence in Belgrave Square by Jennifer Ashley (August 7)
6. Knife in the Back by Karen Rose (August 7)
7. The Story that Wouldn't Die by Christina Estes (August 12)
8. The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols (August 13)
9. Murder by the Book by Amie Schaumberg (August 14)
10. Claws Out by Cate Conte (August 19)
11. Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman (August 19)
12. Death at an Irish Village by Ellie Brannigan (August 20)
13. A Lonesome Place for Murder by Nolan Chase (August 21)
14. Laying Down the Latte by Ellie Alexander (August 21)

New This Month 

Date indicates when the book will be released.

1. The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi (September 16)
2. Murder at Somerset House by Andrea Penrose (September 30)
3. Vows and Villainy by Elizabeth Penney (November 25)
4. The Storm by Rachel Hawkins (January 6)
5. The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz (January 6)
6. Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson (February 10)
7. Maybe This Once by Sophie Sullivan (February 10)
8. Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz (February 10)
9. You Did Nothing Wrong by CG Drews (March 17)

All TBR Review Books

September

• The Killing Stones by Ann Cleaves (September 30)
• The Librarians by Sherry Thomas (September 30)
• Murder at Somerset House by Andrea Penrose (September 30)

October

• Mirage City by Lev AC Rosen (October 7)
• Dying Cry by Margaret Mizushima (October 14)
• Death on a Scottish Train by Lucy Connelly (October 14)

• Fallen Star by Lee Goldberg (October 14)
• And Then There Was The One by Matha Waters (October 14)
• The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong (October 14)

• And to All a Good Bite by David Rosenfelt (October 14)
• Death on Dickens Island by Allison Brook (October 21)
• At Death's Dough by Mindy Quigley (October 28)

November

• The Hidden City by Charles Finch (November 4)
• The Devil in Oxford by Jess Armstrong (November 4)
• The Nameless Land by Kate Elliott (November 4)

• These Violent Delights by Madeleine Roux (November 4)
• Innocence Road by Laura Griffin (November 11)

• Revenge, Served Royal by Celeste Connally (November 11)
• Turns of Fate by Anne Bishop (November 11)
• Wild Instinct by T. Jefferson Parker (November 11)

• Haze by Katharine Kerr (November 11)
• The Queen Who Came in from the Cold by S. J. Bennett (November 11)
• Midnight in Memphis by Thomas Dann (November 18)

• At Midnight Comes the Cry by Julia Spencer-Fleming (November 18)
• Blood Oath by Steve Urszenyi (November 18)
• The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts (November 18)

• The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews (November 25)
• Vows and Villainy by Elizabeth Penney (November 25)

December

• The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier (December 2)
• All My Bones by P. J. Nelson (December 2)
• A Grave Deception by Connie Berry (December 9)

January

• The Devil in the Details by Vicki Delany (January 6)
• Wildwood by Amy Pease (January 6)

• The Storm by Rachel Hawkins (January 6)
• The Shop on Hidden Lane by Jayne Ann Krentz (January 6)
• A Deadly Clue by Victoria Gilbert (January 13)

• The Bookbinder's Secret by A. D. Bell (January 13)
• A Field Guide to Murder by Michalle L. Cullen (January 27)

February

• Maybe This Once by Sophie Sullivan (February 10)
• Antihero by Gregg Hurwitz (February 10)
• Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson (February 10)

March

• You Did Nothing Wrong by CG Drews (March 17)
• Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict (March 24)

April

• The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton by Jennifer N. Brown (April 14)