Category Archives: Book Reviews

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Dead Mountain

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Dead Mountain by Douglas Preston

Dead Mountain (Nora Kelly, #4) by Douglas Preston (Goodreads Author), Lincoln Child

Amy Caudill‘s review

May 13, 2024

The fourth installment of The Nora Kelly Novels featuring secondary characters from the authors’ best known series, The Pendergast Novels, finds our intrepid heroines facing an investigation based on true-life adventures.  Nora Kelly, archeologist, and Corrie Swanson, junior FBI agent, find themselves examining some remains uncovered in a cave that may have ties to a fifteen year old unsolved case.

Fifteen years ago, a group of college students went missing in the Manzano Mountains, near an Air Force base, under mysterious circumstances.  Only some of the bodies were ever found, until now.  The evidence seems to indicate that the hikers went crazy, because some apparently left their shelter at night, in various states of dress, during a blizzard. 

Before the final curtain comes down, Nora and Corrie will deal with a military cover-up, a self- righteous victim’s group whose leader is a conspiracy nut, and the true villain of the so-called Manzano massacre, who has been hiding the truth all these years.

The two main characters have developed an uneasy friendship over the course of this series, based on joint adversity.  However, this volume shows Corrie growing the most as an individual and as an agent.  She has to adjust to a new mentor following the murder of her last in the previous book, and she’s finally taking a chance on love in the person of recurring character Sheriff Watts.  Overall, it’s nice to see the two women have lives outside of archeological digs, bureaucratic problems, and death-defying escapes from terror.

This book delivers on the promise that there’s going to be plenty of action, deep mysteries, and enough twists and turns to satisfy any discerning reader, as per usual with the names of Preston and Child on the cover.  I can’t wait to see where the next adventure takes the ladies, as well as the next installation of the main series, both due out this year.  I award this book five stars, and recommend it to readers of police procedurals, action thrillers, and fans of strong female characters.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Word is Murder

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The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz

The Word is Murder (Hawthorne & Horowitz #1) by Anthony Horowitz (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

It is very rare for a published author to insert himself as a character into a story, “in the flesh,” but that is exactly what Anthony Horowitz has done in his popular series, Hawthorne and Horowitz.

This series features a former detective inspector, Daniel Hawthorne, an abrasive, temperamental and brilliant investigator, who works as a consultant for the constabulary.  He has decided that he wants a book written about his work and cases.  He picks Anthony Horowitz to write said book, as he is familiar with his writing due to the fact that Hawthorne consulted on a TV show for the author previously.

Horowitz needs some convincing to begin a partnership with the abrasive detective, and often is frustrated with him over his handling of suspects, and his lack of sharing information about theories and anything “personal” which would allow Horowitz to write said book.  Despite this, the author finds himself drawn into the intrigue of the case, and realizes that he wants to see it through just as desperately as it seems Hawthorne does.

Diana Cowper, a woman who appears to have a very successful, though quiet life, makes arrangements for her own funeral at a funeral parlor, and later that same day is murdered.  Is the case a simple coincidence and burglary gone wrong, or is there something more sinister involved?  The investigation will unearth facts pertaining to the victim and her famous though often absent son that will establish a number of motives for murder.

While the author is a first person narrator, he is not omniscient; he seems to rarely understand Hawthorne’s motives and is often in the dark about his actions till after the fact, supporting the premise that Hawthorne is a “real” detective and separate person.  All in all, the two have a very interesting dynamic that makes for a novel take on the typical detective story.  

The case itself is interesting for the reader, and contains plenty of twists and turns for fans of the genre.  All in all, an excellent story, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series. I award this book 4.5 stars.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone

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Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone (Ernest Cunningham, #1) by Benjamin Stevenson (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

Not your usual cozy murder mystery, this novel is actually a satire of so many of the typical tropes.  Let’s start with the narrator- Ernest Cunningham, an author of books on how to write books, currently on the outs with most of his family because he testified, honestly, in a murder trial against his own brother.

The extended clan has gathered in an isolated ski lodge for a family reunion, and to welcome the aforementioned brother home from his prison sentence.  Of course, no family reunion is ever perfect, but most do not include a  slew of murders, some of strangers and others familial, in a setting where the year’s biggest blizzard is underway and only one local cop is able to get through the weather?!

Ernest spends much of the book trying to reconcile with his brother, who gave him a large bag of money to hold for him before he went away, his mother who won’t speak to him because he testified, his estranged wife who has been seeing his brother in prison, and an assortment of other relatives who are not entirely what they appear.

When he’s not trying to improve his family relations, Ernest is talking to the fourth wall; the reader.  He tells us exactly which chapters contain a murder, in a completely  matter of fact way.  (I chose to not skip ahead and let myself be surprised.)   He let slips out exactly who has smoked their last cigarette, but not exactly why, until the very second he tells you, see I told you this was about to happen.  

Ernest’s tone, which is deeply honest, and a little depreciating, also contains just enough humor to keep the reader engaged, as if the reveal of twenty-five year old family mysteries, the appearance of a dead brother who is actually not dead but a famous serial killer and the details of a tortured romance are not enough to do the job.

I admit, I was tickled by just the premise of this book; because I love cozy mysteries I just couldn’t resist a spoof of the same.  This book actually does contain several mysteries wrapped up into one, with a lot of humor poking fun at the genre.  I think it’s very cleverly done and can’t wait to read more from author Benjamin Stevenson.  I give this book five stars.

Absence and Book Review

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Hello, dear followers and friends. I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I have just had to be away for awhile because of demands on my time from work, family, and holiday events, but I hope to be back more frequently now. I am trying to make writing a priority again, as it hasn’t been in a while, and I apologize to anyone this has affected. So now I present my first book review of the year, and plan to continue posting semi-regularly in the future. 

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Win

Win by Harlan Coben

Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III, #1) by Harlan Coben (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

Jan 17, 2024  

When Windsor Horne Lockwood III, Win to his few friends and family, is invited to a crime scene by the FBI, he is automatically wary and aware that something unusual is occurring.  He realizes quickly this case has nothing to do with his recent bout of vigilantism that he perpetrated on a girlfriend beater and rapist, but rather to do with events that happened to his family twenty plus years ago.

His billionaire family loaned two priceless masterpieces to a university only for them to be stolen.  One of the pieces, which has been missing for twenty years, has just been recovered at a murder scene where the victim has been identified as a fugitive domestic terrorist, who has been missing even longer.  Even more telling, a suitcase with Win’s own initials is also found at the scene- a suitcase Win gave to his cousin, who was abducted from a different murder scene in the past.

Thanks to his mentor/friend/former handler with the FBI, a man who goes by PT, Win is allowed to investigate these events on his own terms as he looks for the rest of the domestic terrorist group, and how they are linked to the art theft, kidnapping of his cousin and murder of her father in the past. 

Win has advantages the official police and FBI do not to help him in these tasks.  For one, he is a billionaire with all kinds of contacts.  For another, he is a master of multiple martial arts and weapons, without a fear of getting his hands dirty.  In fact, more than once he compares himself to Bruce Wayne, a rich vigilant able to enact his own form of justice.

As he investigates these cold cases and how they tie into recent events, Win uncovers a lot of family secrets that perhaps are better off left buried, and must decide how much can be revealed and who in his opinion deserves punishment.

When I began reading this book, I was unaware the title character is the best friend/sidekick in the author Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar series, which I have obviously not read yet.  I was impressed with how deeply developed Win’s character is; he is egotistical, violent, and smart, and a dangerous adversary in his own right.  He is unapologetic about his choices, his vices, and his preferred methods of finding justice, but he does have some (closely guarded) vulnerabilities that keep him from being completely unlikeable. 

I give this book four stars and recommend it to fans of action and detective stories, with a disclaimer about some of the gratuitous violence and adult themes present.  I will probably check out more of the main series with Myron Bolitar as I have time, and compare the levels and methods that character uses to this one.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Nightfall in the Garden of Deep Time

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Nightfall in the Garden of Deep Time by Tracy L. Higley

Nightfall in the Garden of Deep Time by Tracy L. Higley (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

This lovely story centers around repressed, stressed Kelsey who divides her time between caring for her elderly “Gran,” and trying to keep their vintage bookstore open.  Facing pressure from a local developer determined to buy up all the properties on their street, as well as dwindling sales and pushy help, Kelsey is near the end of her tether.

While worrying over Gran’s declining health, Kelsey laments over her unrealized dreams of being an author, for fear of rejection, only for Gran to make a comment about the vacant lot, or ‘’garden” next door to the bookstore.  Kelsey decides to take a look and accidentally finds her way into a dream garden that seems too good to be real, except that the party going on there seems, feels, and tastes perfectly real.

Inside the garden, Kelsey finds the artistic encouragement she’s always needed, along with a challenge to develop her gift and “go deeper” into seeking the truth by a bevy of historical bestselling authors, artists, and musicians, who mysteriously seem to recognize her as “E’s girl,” which can only be a reference to her Gran. 

Faced with the fact that she’s losing time while in the garden, she must decide if she’s delusional, or accept the challenge to potentially grow as a writer and find the answers she desperately wants.  Meanwhile, the day the city takes over her property to sell to the developer grows over nearer, and her only hope may be to accept help from a publisher who wants to promote a best-selling book that sounds remarkably like her own story in the beleaguered bookshop.

This is a beautiful, imaginative work by author Tracey Higley that includes a dreamlike world I’d very much like to visit, as well as doses of real-life issues for the main character.  The twists and turns the author includes as Kelsey travels in the past, and explores hidden worlds made me wonder at one point exactly where the story was going, only for another twist to prove there was a plan all along.  Kelsey’s struggles very much speak to the writer in me, as she discovers universal truths for all creatives, about why we struggle and why we choose whether or not to take risks with our gifts.

I recommend this story highly, and award it five stars.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Retreat

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The Retreat by Sarah Pearse

The Retreat (Detective Elin Warner, #2) by Sarah Pearse (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

In this imaginative take on the isolated island murder mystery trope, a British detective, Elin Warner, investigates when a series of murders take place on an island resort with a dark history.

In the beginning of this story, Elin is on leave after experiencing a breakdown from incidents in her prior investigations, but when she is pulled into this case, which has personal connections through her boyfriend, she decides she must give this case her all.

Cary Island, also known as Reaper’s Rock, has a bloody past.  Once home to a school for troubled youth, it became the site of a massacre that still haunts locals.  However, a mogul has decided to build a luxury retreat on the island, which seems to be a success, until the first body appears.

 Though early signs make the death as an accident, Elin and her new partner Steed soon find evidence that indicates it might be otherwise. When another body appears, with ties to both the group including the first victim and the owner of the resort, the detectives uncover evidence linking both deaths to the previous group of murders on the island.  With a storm and problems on the mainland preventing Elin from getting reinforcements, it’s up to her and Steed to catch the killer, or killers, before they strike again.

I enjoyed this story very much, even though I haven’t yet read the first book in the series, which I’m sure would explain more about Elin’s personal issues.  The clues left about the past littered throughout the story as Elin’s thoughts and fears threaten to overwhelm her at times are eye-opening though.  Despite or perhaps because of her flaws, Elin is very relatable as a character, though the story frequently switched between her point of view and those of the party that appear to be victims of the murders. 

There is plenty of action, along with details revealing a complex backstory and history of the island and the prior murders. The only issue I had is the very end, where a secondary character reveals information not previously uncovered about a hidden motive behind one of the murders, far after the fact and seemingly without any suspicion being cast on her.  I don’t know if the author is setting up for another story, but it seemed completely random to reveal that at the end and did not seem to fit into the rest of the story at all.

Otherwise, a very enjoyable story, which I give four stars.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Street of the Five Moons

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Street of the Five Moons by Elizabeth Peters

Street of the Five Moons (Vicky Bliss, #2) by Elizabeth Peters

Amy Caudill‘s review

When blonde bombshell/medieval art historian Vicky Bliss is shown an unbelievably perfect forgery of a piece of famous jewelry, housed in their own Munich National Museum, she convinces her boss that she should investigate the origins and purpose of this copy.  She soon finds herself on the way to Rome to check out an obscure clue from a dead man’s pocket.  

While there, she will encounter an Englishman who may be both an ally and a criminal, and an underground art forgery ring that touches the highest echelons of Italian society.  When she is invited to visit the mansion of one of the main suspects the morning after being kidnapped, and rescued, by her sort of ally/rival, Vicky doesn’t hesitate to accept, even knowing she is probably going into even more danger.  She will follow clues leading through a garden of monstrous statuary, a secret lab, and a thrilling escape through the Italian countryside.

I have read all of Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody series, and a few of her stand alone books written under the pseudonym of Barbara Michaels.  I adore the Peabody books, patterned somewhat after the author herself, who holds a doctorate in Egyptology; but I found the books she wrote as Barabara Michaels a little less in substance than those, so I was happy to discover the Vicky Bliss series seems to be just as fascinating as the Peabody books.

While the subject matter is obviously different, being medieval art versus ancient Egyptian artifacts, it is obvious that the author put in her due diligence in research as well as creating several memorable, fascinating characters; including Vicky and her bumbling, lovable boss Professor Schmidt, and her future possible (?) love interest/antagonist, who she only knows as John Smythe. 

I enjoyed this story very much, and intend to go back and read the rest of the series as I have time.  I award this book four and a half stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys thriller/mystery stories featuring strong female heroines.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Guest List

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The Guest List by Lucy Foley

The Guest List by Lucy Foley (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

A murder mystery at a wedding held on an isolated island gives a promising start to this novel by Lucy Foley.  The author paints a dreamy romantic scene populated with ruins, including the foundations of a chapel for the wedding itself, on an island haunted by legends and folktales of the now-absent native population.

The author also, through continual change of point of view throughout each short chapter, develops three promising suspects who each have motive and perhaps opportunity to commit murder.   

First up, Johnno, the betrayed “best friend” who shares a history of dark secrets with the murder victim, the bridegroom Will.  Next, Olivia, the bridesmaid and younger sister of the bride, had a clandestine affair with the groom and was nearly destroyed after he rejected her pregnancy which she terminated.  Finally the bride, Jules, discovers some of Will’s dark secrets but only after saying “I do.”

While there are plenty of side stories told from various viewpoints, so many of these are left undeveloped and unexplained.  For instance, Charlie, the oldest friend of Jules, and his wife Hannah, the “plus one,” have backstories that are interesting but have no direct connection to the main events and no resolution.

In the end, none of the likely suspects is the murderer.  The fourth person used for POV, other than the groom himself, seems the least likely person to commit a crime, until she does.  The reader is left longing for a great reveal, aka Agatha Christie, as at first the story seems building into; but the actual unveiling is done in a most disappointing way, after the fact.  We don’t get the satisfaction of the murder happening “on camera,” so to speak, so the victim can witness his end in the murderer’s eyes.  Plus as the story ends, it appears that the true killer will get away with the crime, because one of the more likely suspects has been arrested.

While this story premise had promise, the constant shift between point of view was at first hard to follow, and then as I began to figure it out, I was able to solve parts of the mystery prior to its reveal.  The novel could have used more development of both plot and subplot, which is why I only give it three stars.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Cold, Cold Bones

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Cold, Cold Bones by Kathy Reichs

Cold, Cold Bones (Temperance Brennan, #21) by Kathy Reichs (Goodreads Author)

Amy Caudill‘s review

Reading a Kathy Reichs book  is for me like visiting an old friend.  I have read most if not all of her prior novels, but I was pleasantly surprised when I started this one that it proved to be a trip down memory lane.

Dr. Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist,  is back in North Carolina for this one (for readers new to the series, she divides her time professionally between working for a coroner’s office in North Carolina and one in Quebec, Canada,) and is welcoming her grown daughter, Katy, home after a stint in the Army, when an eyeball appears on her back porch. Yes, an eyeball.  This first discovery leads Tempe down a path with more twists and turns than a mountain road.  

Only gradually does Tempe become aware, along with readers, that this case has similarities to a previous case from years past, and then there is another discovery, and another, and soon a pattern emerges that the anthropologist and readers alike will recognize as highlights from Reich’s prior novels.  Getting the often cranky but earnest Detective Slidell on board is a help to Tempe, but the copycat appears to have an inside source, one which proves elusive to both parties.

Worse still, Tempe’s daughter has disappeared.  Is she off somewhere dealing with PTSD, or is her silence a sign that she has somehow been drawn into these horrible events?  A final confrontation between Tempe and the culprit which was foreshadowed but only revealed at the eleventh hour showcases both the depraved depths one can reach for revenge, and the heroic efforts of the other for the safety of a child.

Prior readers of the series will enjoy the trip revisiting past novels, like a clip episode of a favorite TV show: while there is plenty of action, suspense, and drama to keep neophytes entertained.  I give this story five stars, as I rarely have enjoyed one of author Kathy Reich’s novels more.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4) by  Agatha Christie

Amy Caudill‘s review

While this was hardly the first novel by Agatha Christie I have read, I was pleasantly surprised by how much Dame Christie could surprise me with hidden depths in her characters and writing style.

This particular work, touted as number 4 in the Hercule Poirot series, opens with a Poirot who has retired and is living semi-anonymously in a small English village.  When a local wealthy man is murdered on the heels of the suicide of a local wealthy woman whom he was close to, someone close to the cases comes forward and pleads with the famed detective to assist.  

Poirot agrees, in part because he is already getting bored with his retirement, and enlists the local physician, Dr. James Albertson, to take over the duties of chronicler/assistant normally ascribed to his longtime friend Albert Hastings.  Together they will work with the local police as they interview the members of the household and examine several scenes for clues and rumors relating to the events of the murder.  Dr. Albertson, himself one of the last people to see Ackroyd alive, writes his observations knowing Poirot has guessed he is hiding information from the investigation.

While Dr. Albertson includes many of his thoughts in his narrations; he leaves out just enough that when Poirot reveals the truth, we are left realizing what an unreliable narrator the reader has had all along.  This is where I marveled at Christie’s design; the voice of the narrator seemed perfectly sober and honest up until the end; I had assumed that this new character was simply the Hastings for this story, when instead we got so much more.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and recommend it to aficionados of mysteries everywhere.  For those who haven’t tried the classic cases of Agatha Christie, her stories have timeless appeal for readers young and old.  I award this story five stars.