#crime novel

Rating:  ★★★★★

Police captain Linda Turner becomes obsessed with solving the haunting murders of two young children and their pastor father, as well as the disappearance of their mother and why they never made it to their missionary work in Africa. Salvation Station is a murder-mystery that combines elements of suspense, police procedural, and a fraudulent religious organization in a way that reads like an episode of CSI or Criminal Minds. Schleich takes you along more than one plot line but is skilled enough to never lose the reader or cause the story to become muddled. I don’t want to give anything away, but the story of the killer was such an interesting one because the author gives them a backstory and makes them a more realistic character while at the same time showcasing to the reader that they are a master manipulator with no conscious.

I was most impressed by the actual crime-solving/investigation writing and how well it was written, and I was shocked when I found out this was Kathryn Schleich’s debut novel. It’s well balanced, concise and not drawn out or boring, and has an interesting plot. Definitely the kind of novel to put an author on my radar for the future.

Salvation Station wasn’t a long novel, but it was an absolute page-turner and the perfect novel for all of the crime readers and watchers.

Thank you to Kathryn Schleich and book publicist Kelsey Butts for this review copy, this was a great read!

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Saylor Rains

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Rating:  ★★★★★

Trumanell Branson disappeared a decade ago, leaving behind a town that never forgot and people who never stopped trying to find her. Odette Tucker, the town’s youngest cop and one with personal ties to Trumanell and her family, is sliding down a slippery slope as she tries to solve this mystery and the one of the missing girl who showed up in a field with only one eye.

No description I give this book could do it justice. I’m heartbroken. This was one of those books that grabbed a hold of my nerves and my heart and just didn’t let go. The powerful imagery, complex plot, and atmospheric writing made for one of the most interesting books this year. The middle of this book made me gasp out loud, the change halfway through something you couldn’t have guessed.

This was a slow read that I definitely took my time with, but I didn’t ever lose my patience with it.

We Are All the Same in the Dark

grabbed my attention and wouldn’t give it back until I finished it. This story had so many layers built into it, it was a masterpiece of a “who-done-it” and makes the reader suspicious of every character at least once. Sip this one slowly like a fine wine and enjoy.

Thank you to Ballantine Books, Julia Heaberlin, and NetGalley for this arc.

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Saylor Rains

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Release Date: March 2nd, 2021

Rating:  ★★★★★

Every Last Fear reads like the best kind of crime drama playing right before your eyes. Matt Pine comes back to his NYU dorm after a night of partying to the worst news possible news; his entire family who were on vacation in Mexico was just found dead. What at first looks like an accidental gas leak turns out to be so much more and it has everyone wondering: could this relate to the murder that put Danny Pine, Matt’s older brother, in prison seven years ago.

The unique plot was built on real characters with multifaceted lives. Each chapter revealed new plot and more layers to the story, causing the reader to constantly adjust their theory on what happened. The constantly changing perspective, where everyone has a different piece of the puzzle, is engaging and gives butterflies just like all good thrillers.

The web that Alex Finlay was able to weave in this novel was intricate and fascinating. The things this family went through all because of one night are heartbreaking. The ending was satisfying. I had to mentally decompress after the amount of action my heart just went through. Every Last Fear is a new favorite of mine.

Many thanks to Alex Finlay, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this incredible ARC.

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Saylor Rains

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Rating: ★★★★

Release Date: August 20th, 2020

Jim is a department store security guard with an unhappy marriage and a condescending boss younger than him. He used to be a member of the Gardaí. He also happens to secretly be The Nothing Man, Cork’s very own serial killer at large since his first assault occurred two decades ago in 1999.

In 2001, he commits his last known crime. The murder of almost all of the Black family. Now it’s eighteen years later and survivor Evelyn Black is back on his radar- and this time she’s coming for The Nothing Man.

With this book’s unique format we are seeing through Jim’s eyes as he discovers a newly released book titled The Nothing Man, named after his media-given moniker from all those years ago. We fall down the rabbit hole with him as he reads through Evelyn’s collection of interviews, reports, and memories.

Right from the beginning of this book Catherine Ryan Howard hooks you by drawing you into the mind of an easily angered, unhappy man. Her knowledge and care of the subject is obvious as you read about the progression of his crimes and the accuracy of an escalating killer. The attention to detail doesn’t stop there as she dazzles the reader further by giving us an example of the way trauma shapes a child’s mind. Howard keeps you hooked and doesn’t let you put this book down by using her ability to write something simultaneously terribly tragic and in the realm of possibility.

I’ve never read a book quite like this and the uniqueness alone made for an excellent read. The narrative rarely dragged and the characterization and behavior was true to the profile of the killer. One of my favorite parts of this is the way that Howard sends a message: the men who commit these acts are nothing and we shouldn’t be glorifying them. The emphasis on this is important today in this desensitized age when sometimes we need a reminder.

Thank you to Catherine Ryan Howard, Blackstone Publishing, and Edelweiss for this DRC in exchange for an honest review.

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Saylor Rains

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29th of November, 2020

I finally finished this book (yesterday actually). It took me a while to pick it up again but finished it all together in about 6 days. It was such a good crime novel. I want to read more of Christie’s!