Book Review: Highway to Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Highway to Hell
Author: Rosemary Clement-Moore
Series: Maggie Quinn (Book 3)
Publication: Delacorte Press (March 5, 2009)

Description: Maggie Quinn was expecting to find plenty of trouble with Lisa over Spring Break. Destination: South Padre Island! Give a girl a bikini, a beachfront hotel, and an absent boyfriend, and it’s as good as a road map to the dark side. And Maggie and Lisa plan to enjoy every bit of it--just like nice, normal college freshmen. Fire, brimstone, and demonic sorority girls: these ladies are officially off the clock.

But Maggie doesn’t have to go looking for trouble. Trouble has started looking for her. One dead cow and a punctured gas tank later, she and Lisa are stuck in Dulcina, Texas—a town so small that it has an owner. And--you guessed it--lately life in this small town hasn’t been all that peaceful. An eerie predator is stalking the ranchland. Cattle are dying mysteriously, with strange bite marks on their hides. And judging by the rising body count, whatever's doing the killing is getting bolder by the day.

Everyone in town has a theory, but not even Maggie’s psychic mojo can provide any answers. And the longer the girls are stranded, the more obvious it becomes that something is seriously wrong. Only no one—not even Maggie’s closest ally—wants to admit that they could have been forced on a detour down the highway to hell.

It looks like fighting evil isn't a job with vacation time.

My Thoughts: The third book in the Maggie Quinn series has Maggie and her best friend Lisa driving to Spring Break on South Padre Island. Neither are really the Spring Break type. Maggie wants to do an article for her school newspaper and Lisa just wants to do something normal. 

However, their plans fall apart when Maggie's jeep hits a dead cow in the road and the two of them find themselves stranded in Dulcina, Texas, with something supernatural going on. The locals are sure that El Chupacabra has made a return as evidenced by missing and dead animals ranging from a small dog through goats and calves and cows. Both Maggie and Lisa are intrigued, and both are hoping that this won't be their next encounter with evil. 

With Justin spending some time with his best friend Henry, Maggie feels a bit lost without his support and his research skills. A trip to a small local roadside museum with a faked-up skeleton of a supposed chupacabra doesn't shed much light on the mystery though a small relic from a long-lost Indian tribe may hold a clue.

Evidence of some sort of supernatural something becomes hard to dismiss as Maggie is having visions about something evil despite Lisa new friend Zeke's assurance that it is just some natural creature made more dangerous by the drought. Zeke's grandmother who appears in Maggie's visions is busy denying any sort of supernatural evil despite having bested it some fifty years earlier. When Justing and Henry join the girls, the whole Scooby gang is together again and just in time to battle a demon. 

This story has it all. There is great worldbuilding, intriguing supernatural characters, snarky conversations between best friends, and all sorts of action as they bettle the demon. Fans of YA paranormal fiction will enjoy this one. 

Favorite Quote:

"Where's Zeke?"

"He's talking to the doctor about Dave. Are you out of your mind?"

Trying not to grimace at the pins and needles of restored circulation, I uncurled from the couch. "You're going to have to give me a frame of reference for that question. It's been a long night, and in no way lacking in crazy."

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

Friday Memes: Highway to Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore

 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. 

The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. This meme is currently on hiatus but many of us are still including a sentence from page 56 or from 56% of the ebook. Anne @ Head Full of Books is picking up the slack until Freda is ready to return. I think this link will get you to the correct place. 

Beginning:

Some people think that Texas has only one season, that it's summer all year long. In fact, the Lone Star State does have four seasons: Hot, Humid, Horrible, and Hellacious. But when I decided to road-trip with D&D Lisa to South Padre Island, I didn't think that last one would be so literal.

Friday 56:

"Drought didn't kill my best herding dog," said Carl from the Old Guys' table. "Or Teresa's goats.

Teresa unfolded her arms slowly, with a sense of drama. "All with their throats ripped out."

This week I am spotlighting Highway to Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore. This is the third book in a trilogy. The first two had been on my TBR pile for years before I recently read them. Here is the description from Amazon:

Maggie Quinn was expecting to find plenty of trouble with Lisa over Spring Break. Destination: South Padre Island! Give a girl a bikini, a beachfront hotel, and an absent boyfriend, and it’s as good as a road map to the dark side. And Maggie and Lisa plan to enjoy every bit of it--just like nice, normal college freshmen. Fire, brimstone, and demonic sorority girls: these ladies are officially off the clock.

But Maggie doesn’t have to go looking for trouble. Trouble has started looking for her. One dead cow and a punctured gas tank later, she and Lisa are stuck in Dulcina, Texas—a town so small that it has an owner. And--you guessed it--lately life in this small town hasn’t been all that peaceful. An eerie predator is stalking the ranchland. Cattle are dying mysteriously, with strange bite marks on their hides. And judging by the rising body count, whatever's doing the killing is getting bolder by the day.

Everyone in town has a theory, but not even Maggie’s psychic mojo can provide any answers. And the longer the girls are stranded, the more obvious it becomes that something is seriously wrong. Only no one—not even Maggie’s closest ally—wants to admit that they could have been forced on a detour down the highway to hell.

It looks like fighting evil isn'at a job with vacation time.

ARC Review: In the Wick of Time by Valona Jones

In the Wick of Time
Author: Valona Jones
Series: Magic Candle Shop Mystery (Book 2)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (October 17, 2023)

Description: Tabby Winslow will help her twin sister Sage with anything and everything—and that includes putting out the flames of suspicion when Sage’s boss is found murdered in this magical mystery, perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Sofie Kelly.

December in Savannah, Georgia, is a sight to behold. With all the festivities—including the traditional riverfront luminary display during the boat parade—twin sisters Tabby and Sage Winslow are busier than ever setting up for the big celebration. But that isn’t the only thing on the sisters’ minds. Both Sage and her fellow employee Mary Nicole are vying for the sought-after assistant manager job at the plant nursery. But when Loren Lee, their boss, is found dead, and Sage becomes the police’s favorite suspect, both Winslow girls know that they’ll need more than a flicker of magic and their sisterhood to solve the murder and clear Sage’s name.

Soon, Tabby realizes that this is just one of the many problems they have. If being a suspect for murder wasn’t enough, there are more magical problems that they have to fix: Sage’s boyfriend is having a paranormal experience of his own he can’t control, there’s an energy vampire searching for his supposedly lost cousin, her cat suddenly dislikes her, and oh—every time Tabby hiccups, she turns completely invisible. The suspect list grows with each day and it seems everyone has a reason or a connection to Loren Lee.

Tabby and Sage are burning the candle at both ends—but will it be enough to keep their friends safe and find this killer? Or will they be burned by their efforts?

My Thoughts: It's nearing Christmas in Savannah, Georgia, and Tabby and Sage Winslow's candle shop is doing great business. Sage is also busy at her part-time job at a local plant nursery. When the manager of the shop dies unexpectedly, the ME determines that it was murder and Sage becomes a prime suspect.

Tabby will do anything for her sister. She begins to investigate who really killed Loren Lee since she knows that it wasn't her sister. But there are other problems too. Sage's boyfriend had some sort of spell put on him that causes him to betray Sage and wind up in the psych ward. And whenever Tabby hiccups she goes invisible. And she is getting the hiccups frequently. 

Then there is the psychic vampire who has come hunting for Auntie O's boyfriend who has managed to escape his troubled past. And the vampire sets his eye on Sage as his next victim.

As Tabby looks at Sage's fellow employees, she finds a number of suspicious characters. But can she find the murderer before it is too late, and her magic is exposed to the people around her?

Generally speaking, I felt like this story could do with some more editing. Some of the dialog was particularly stilted. And the motivations and personalities of the characters seemed to shift throughout the story. I would have liked to know more about the magic the main characters had and why they seemed not to know how to use it. I didn't feel like I got to know enough about Tabby or Sage or their romances. 

Favorite Quote:

"Herbs and spices."

"Nothing that's a poison?"

"Everything is a poison, Detective. It depends on the concentration and the dose."

He leaned over the counter. "So you also have the knowledge to make poisons."

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

Book & Audio Review: Truly Dead by Anne Frasier

Truly Dead
Author: Anne Frasier
Narrator: Natalie Ross
Series: Elise Sandburg (Book 4)
Publication: Brilliance Audio (May 30. 2017); Thomas & Mercer (May 30. 2017)
Length: 9 hours and 14 minutes; 335 p.

Description: In award-winning author Anne Frasier’s riveting thriller Truly Dead, homicide detective Elise Sandburg returns to Savannah with her partner, profiler David Gould, to track a killer who seems eerily familiar.

When a demolition crew uncovers several bodies inside the walls of a house where serial killer Frank J. Remy once lived, the discovery sends shock waves through the Savannah Police Department.

Homicide partners Elise Sandburg and David Gould were the Savannah PD’s dream team, solving uncrackable crimes and catching killers. But their last case resulted in their termination from the squad, until the coroner calls them back to consult, unofficially, on a body found in the wall of a house once occupied by Remy, a killer Elise’s own father sent to jail—a killer who died in prison. The MO seems uncomfortably similar to that of a serial killer wreaking havoc in Florida.

Does Elise have a copycat on her hands? Is Remy’s influence reaching from beyond the grave? Or is Elise making connections where there are none? When her father warns her to back off the case, Elise’s shadowy family history threatens to swallow her once again. But whatever force is at work, she won’t rest until the killing stops.

Now at odds with everyone she cares about and forced to acknowledge her worsening emotional state, Elise struggles to protect the people she loves as the body count rises.

My Thoughts: The conclusion of the Elise Sandburg quartet was another action-packed and emotionally intense thriller. Elise and David are called back to Savannah when bodies are found entombed in the walls of a house being demolished. They learn that the house was owned by a serial killer who preyed on children and who died in prison before his execution date arrived.

As they look into the case, they find a connection with Elise's father Jackson Sweet, and they also find some questions that lead them to wanting to exhume the body. When the exhumation is crashed by armed invaders who kill the lead homicide detective, wound the mayor, and make off with the casket, Elise and David are pulled back into the Savannah police department and back on the case. 

The casket is recovered, and it is learned that the body inside is not that of the serial killer. They, and Jackson Sweet, believe that the killer is still alive, still preying on children, and consumed with getting revenge on Sweet. The killer is targeting anyone who is close to him including Elise.

The story is engaging. The characters are well-rounded people who are all variously damaged by the things that have happened in their lives. The villain is chilling and elusive. The hunt to find him is thrilling and chilling too. 

This was a great series that should be read in order. I also recommend reading it back-to-back for the full impact of the story.

Favorite Quote:

It was always a surprise to accidentally stumble upon the thoughts that broke you, that wrapped around your heart and squeezed hard. She'd found them.

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

ARC Review: Curse of Salem by Kay Hooper

Curse of Salem
Author: Kay Hooper
Series: A Bishop/SCU Novel (Book 20)
Publication: Berkley (December 28, 2021)

Description: New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper is back with a brand new thrilling paranormal suspense novel in the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series.

The small town of Salem has been quiet for months—or so Bishop and his elite Special Crimes Unit believe.  But then Hollis Templeton and Diana Hayes receive a warning in Diana's eerie "gray time" between the world of the living and the realm of the dead that a twisted killer is stalking Salem, bent on destroying in the most bloody and horrifying way possible the five families that founded the town.

The stakes are high, especially for new friends Nellie Cavendish and Finn Deverell, both members of the Five, and this time Bishop and his wife Miranda will lead the team to hunt down a vicious killer and uncover a dark and ancient curse haunting Salem.

My Thoughts: This is the twentieth book in a series that began in 2000. This time Bishop, his wife Miranda, Hollis Templeton and Reese Demarco, and Diana and Quentin Hayes find themselves returning to Salem at the request of Finn Deverell who is the Chief Deputy. 

Mediums Hollis and Diana have had a vision in the gray time which indicates that a serial killer is going to be killing members of the five powerful, psychic families that control Salem. When Finn calls them in because of a farseeing by one of the Elders, they are ready to respond in numbers. 

But Salem isn't their usual scene. Psychic powers don't work as usual. There is a lot of interference that has just gotten worse since the events of HIDDEN SALEM (2020). They do have other allies in town besides Finn. Nellie Cavendish is a powerful multi-talent who is a recent arrival in town and just getting used to her considerable powers - when she isn't trying to deny them. Even the crows are useful allies.

When a man who's had a fight with his wife disappears, and then is found tortured to death, and another man is kidnapped almost immediately after the first disappearance, the team begins to think that someone is really trying to destroy member of the five families. But that doesn't make a lot of sense since about 40% of the town is related in some way to the families.

Then Hollis has another vision and a young woman named Megan Hales comes to her and tells her she was the first. This comes as a surprise because everyone thought that she had left Salem to make a new life for herself after being jilted by her fiancé shortly before their planned wedding day. Being led to her buried body by the crows turns their investigation onto a new path.

The story is filled with all kinds of paranormal abilities along with being a police procedural. It was interesting trying to figure out who the villain was and to watch the team go off in all sorts of directions until they could focus on the correct villain. 

Fans of the Bishop/SCU stories won't want to miss this latest episode. 

Favorite Quote:

"Why grab a strong telepath, mess around with some kind of injection and oxygen tanks, and then hang him out like bait on a hook?"

"To offer us a puzzle?" DeMarco suggested wryly.

"Or just to see if he could lead us around by the nose?" She sighed. 

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

Book Review: Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

Magic for Liars
Author: Sarah Gailey
Publication: Tor Books (June 4, 2019)

Description: Sharp, mainstream fantasy meets compelling thrills of investigative noir in Magic for Liars, a fantasy debut by rising star Sarah Gailey.

Ivy Gamble was born without magic and never wanted it.

Ivy Gamble is perfectly happy with her life – or at least, she’s perfectly fine.

She doesn't in any way wish she was like Tabitha, her estranged, gifted twin sister.

Ivy Gamble is a liar.

When a gruesome murder is discovered at The Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her estranged twin sister teaches Theoretical Magic, reluctant detective Ivy Gamble is pulled into the world of untold power and dangerous secrets. She will have to find a murderer and reclaim her sister—without losing herself.

My Thoughts: Ivy Gamble tells this story. She is a PI who mostly tracks down cheating spouses or those who are defrauding insurance companies. When the Headmaster of the Osthorne Academy for Young Mages comes to hire her to look into the gruesome death of one of the teachers, Ivy is intrigued but definitely feeling out of her depth. Worst of all, her estranged sister Tabitha is a teacher at the school.

Their estrangement started when it was discovered that Tabitha had magic and Ivy had none, and grew even wider when their mother died of a fast-acting cancer while Ivy was home caring for her and Tabitha was happily away at her school. Ivy's mother's death happened when she was a junior in High School and almost caused her to flunk out. It started her on a path to her career as a PI instead of attending college and joining the FBI. 

Ivy hopes that she will be able to reconcile and build some sort of relationship with her sister since she feels very alone and isolated. Ivy is a loner because, in her opinion, everyone leaves sooner rather than later. She aches for connection but doesn't know how to form connections.

As she looks into the death of the teacher, she learns more about the world of magic and meets a number of the students and staff of the school who might, or might not, know something that will help her discover the murderer. She learns that kids are just kids despite the fact that they have magic. There are mean girls and all the traumas of adolescence. She even begins to form a relationship with one of the teachers in the school. However, since she's lying to him about having magical ability herself, the relationship struggles. 

This was an intriguing story with an interesting main character complete with major flaws and insecurities. It is also told in the first person by that main character which leads to wondering about the veracity of her point of view. I found it an absorbing story.

Favorite Quote:

The thing about me is, I let things go. I let people go. I don't know how to hang on to them--I try, but I hold too tight or not tight enough or something in between and they go. They always go.

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

Friday Memes: Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

 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:

The library at Osthorne Academy for Young Mages was silent save for the whisper of the books in the Theoretical Magic section.

Friday 56:

I looped the pass around my neck. "Why the ward? Is it dangerous in there?"

This week I am spotlighting Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey which I purchased in January when it was a Kindle Daily Deal. Here is the description from Amazon:

A 2020 LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL

Sharp, mainstream fantasy meets compelling thrills of investigative noir in Magic for Liars, a fantasy debut by rising star Sarah Gailey.

Ivy Gamble was born without magic and never wanted it.

Ivy Gamble is perfectly happy with her life – or at least, she’s perfectly fine.

She doesn't in any way wish she was like Tabitha, her estranged, gifted twin sister.

Ivy Gamble is a liar.

When a gruesome murder is discovered at The Osthorne Academy of Young Mages, where her estranged twin sister teaches Theoretical Magic, reluctant detective Ivy Gamble is pulled into the world of untold power and dangerous secrets. She will have to find a murderer and reclaim her sister—without losing herself.

ARC Review: Betrayal on the Bowery by Kate Belli

Betrayal on the Bowery
Author: Kate Belli
Series: A Gilded Gotham Mystery
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (October 12, 2021)

Description: In Gilded-Age New York, not all that glitters is gold in a chilling murder mystery that careens from the city's poshest sanctuaries to its meanest streets.

New York City, summer 1889. Society girl-turned-investigative journalist Genevieve Stewart and wealthy Daniel McCaffrey have arrived at the docks to see their friends, Rupert and Esmie Milton, off on their honeymoon. But the romantic idyll comes to a screeching halt when a crazed man bursts into their stateroom screaming about demons and drops dead before their eyes.

The dead man is Marcus Dalrymple, who had once asked Esmie to marry him--and inside Marcus's pocket, Daniel finds a medallion that they trace to a Lower East Side bar called Boyle's Suicide Tavern. The medallions are prizes given to anyone who spends the night there without dying.

Clearly, a visit to Boyle's could prove hazardous, but it may offer the only clue to Dalrymple's death. Genevieve and Daniel barely escape the bar with their lives but learn that the crime could have a connection to the recent disappearance of a sugar baron's daughter. Only after another young man plunges to his death from a rooftop bar--also screaming about demons--do the pieces of the puzzle begin to come together.

The clues lead Genevieve and Daniel far from the city's moneyed environs to a reputedly haunted mansion deep in the Bronx. There, they will confront the truth--and the demon at its heart.

My Thoughts: This second Gilded Gotham mystery begins while Society Girl/Reporter Genevieve Stewart and millionaire Daniel McCaffrey are seeing their friends Esmie and Rupert off on their honeymoon to Italy. Things go wrong immediately when a man who had previously proposed to Esmie breaks into their cabin raving about demons and then dies on their rug.

Detective Aloysius Longstreet is the man who draws the case. All four of them have run into him before in the first book. He has a tendency to rush to judgment and not look at other options. In this case, he is sure the Rupert must have something to do with this death. Stuck in New York, the four of them must find out what happened because they can be sure that Longstreet isn't looking. 

Genevieve and Daniel's search takes them into the Bowery and a saloon where gentlemen earn a coin if they manage to survive the night. Such a coin was found in the victim's pocket. It is also a saloon where young women often go to commit suicide which fits in with the second investigation Genevieve and Daniel are conducting.

Frank Westwood has invited them to his Fifth Avenue mansion and asked them to try to locate his eighteen-year-old daughter Nora who has supposedly run off with her unsuitable beau. Looking for Nora has quite a bit of overlap with their first investigation and the overlap grows when a second young man from high society also kills himself in their presence after raving about demons.

Besides the visit to the Bowery which almost results in their deaths, Genevieve and Daniel also find themselves searching an old, abandoned mansion and its secret tunnels and confronting on old enemy of Daniel's who was also a villain in the first mystery.

The story was fast-paced and intriguing. It was filled with danger for both Genevieve and Daniel. I liked the relationship between Genevieve and Daniel who were rebuilding their friendship after Genevieve's refusal of his proposal in the first book although I didn't really understand why she refused. Admittedly, society's expectations for married women would seem stifling to a woman who craved independence and adventure, but Genevieve didn't seem like someone who would let society's expectations rule her life. 

The ending leads right into another mystery and I can't wait to read it. 

Favorite Quote:

How could she tell him? How could she tell Luther that she was deathly afraid, terrified nowhere was safe?

That she'd seen something she wasn't supposed to see. That three people, at least, who had also seen it were now dead.

And she strongly suspected she and Daniel were next. 

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