Mystery Archives - Page 2 of 4 - AudiobooksNow Blog

Struggling Against the Ticking Clock…”The People vs. Alex Cross”, by James Patterson

American author, James Patterson, has come under great criticism as of late, for pumping out more Alex Cross series books without any particular order, or what some critics call the completely wrong order. He is accused of being more interested in increasing his ever-increasing bank accounts than being interested in pleasing his loyal series readers. However, his newest offering, The People vs Alex Cross seems to have reinstated his place in the eyes of his most loyal fans. With the new twist given to his newest installment, series fans have given kudos to Patterson for finally getting the series in sync.

Alex Cross, that person who with psychiatric training, has been the one to solve the deadliest crimes and find those whom others had no chance of finding. But now, Alex Cross finds himself on the wrong side of the law, and is being accused of being a trigger-happy cop who has actually committed murder. He has been put on suspension, and has decided to fill his free time by counseling others on the police force who needs advice or assistance in working through their problems. His first consult is with a fellow cop, Samson, who was one of his former partners. Several young blonde girls have disappeared, and among them is Samson’s daughter. He is desperate to find her, as he feels that her life is hanging by a thread. Alex Cross puts his own career in jeopardy to help this terrified father find his child, and therefore find the serial killer behind this string of disappearances. At the same time, Cross is fighting his own battle, preparing for a court case that will determine his fate.

As Cross struggles against the ticking clock of a serial murderer, and grows less and less confident in his own case, he must rely on his own psychology training to get himself through his most challenging times. As one reviewer commented……the end of Cross’s trial is absolutely mind-blowing!

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Like a Ghost, the Evil is not Easily Found…”Haunted”, by James Patterson

In this latest edition of the Detective Michael Bennett saga, James Patterson, in collaboration with James O. Born, presents a very satisfying, yet disturbing, novel following one of New York City’s premier investigators. Michael Bennett and his family have planned a much needed get away, and what better place than a small town in the heart of Maine. Bennett had been pushed to his limits by a series of several crisis situations, so a vacation seemed like a perfect remedy.

Once the Bennett family gets settled in for their hard earned vacation, almost immediately Michael was approached by the local authorities, asking if he could help them stop an evil perpetrator from destroying their population of children. The challenge for this street-wise investigator is that the existing evil in the town is like a ghost…….not easily found……or it might be next door. Once Detective Bennett gets involved in the case, the evil not only threatens law enforcement, the towns people, but also Bennett’s own beloved family.

A young “earthy” girl who has nobody to support her ends up being a partner, of sorts, in the solving of this mystery. The girl is haunted by what she knows, and it is a race against time before others will be statistics. What seemed like the idyllic small town in which to decompress became anything but for the Bennett family.

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Not Even Children are Safe…”Jack & Jill”, by James Patterson

Jack and Jill, another in the Alex Cross series of detective mysteries by American author, James Patterson, is another nail biting novel depicting a complex search to find the perpetrators of various murders in the Washington, DC area. The most disturbing of them being the murder of a child……not even children are safe.

A Senator is found murdered and then, the unthinkable, a little girl is found murdered ad left in front of the elementary school where Alex Cross’s son attends. As Cross is feverishly trying to connect the dots to the murders, the killer, or killers, strike again. It seems that only Alex Cross has the skills to expose the killer, but will he figure it out in time?

In this, the author’s third novel about police detective and psychologist, Alex Cross, he presents a true roller coaster of a heart pounding, intense, jolting plot………giving credence to those who say that James Patterson is “the aster of the nonstop nightmare”.

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Skeletons of Scandal, Violence, and Murder in the Closet…”Crime Scene”: A Novel by, Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman

The American team of father and son, Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman have co-authored a page turning fictional novel entitled, Crime Scene: The Novel. A star athlete turned coroner’s investigator is drawn into a brutal, complicated murder. The novel is a true example of a psychological thriller at its best.

Clay Edison is the Kellerman’s main character, the coroner’s investigator whose normal job capacity entails determining natural causes or foul play in each body he examines. Figuring out motives and chasing down suspects is not a normal part of his job description. What should have been an open and shut case proves to be anything but that.

A loyal and defiant daughter of a dead professor convinces Clay to take a closer look at her father’s death. What appeared to be a nasty, fatal fall down the stairs turns out to be a grim and brutal murder. One key piece of information Clay finds is that a colleague of the professor had died in almost the same manner. The dead professor had many skeletons in his closet involving scandal, violence, and the murder of a coed.

The authors know they have a truly great work created when author, Stephen King says of the father and son writing team……… “Brilliant page turning fiction……..A rare collaboration where the sum is truly greater than the parts…….an extraordinary work of detection, suspense, and supernatural mystery”.

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Out For Revenge….”House of Spies”, by Daniel Silva

In quoting one reader………many thriller writers are writing about ISIS, but few grasp its history or even the fundamental nature of its barbarity. Instead, they plug into a cookie cutter plot and promote the result as something profound, when it is anything but……and worse are the authors who bash readers with their personal politics rather than being creative enough to give their characters life with actions that reveal what the author is “trying” to communicate. That quote, in this reader’s opinion, is such a fair and very impressive comment on the honesty and integrity written into the new book by author, Daniel Silva. As a continuation of his best seller of 2016, The Black Widow, his new offering, House of Spies continues the work of Gabriel Allon, who is out for revenge. He is dead set on hunting down a despicable, dangerous terrorist who goes by the name of Saladin.

Gabriel Allon has now assumed the position of chief of the Office, another term for Mossad, in Israel. Various other Silva characters have been brought back into House of Spies to help enrich and embolden the plot. As does usually happen, one loose end that is overlooked by the ISIS mastermind, gives Gabriel something to cling to as he begins to get closer to the world’s most dangerous terrorist.

Even after a long, successful string of novels, Silva still finds new ways to create surprises for his readers. One had assumed that once Gabriel Allon was said to have left field work, his importance might be insignificant. But with genius writing and character development, Gabriel will still carry the novels to come.
House of Spies “is just the type of relentless, high powered, headline – beating thriller that readers have come to expect from Daniel Silva, one of the truly great, must-read authors of his time.

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From Alternating Points of View, Family Issues, and an Epilogue…”Local Girl Missing”, by Claire Douglas

Just the title is chilling enough in today’s world, but the brand new book from author Claire Douglas might just surpass the thrill of the title, Local Girl Missing. It has all the components of what an excellent mystery should have…….suspense, mystery, makes your heart race, from alternating points of view, family issues, and an epilogue.

The two main characters, Francesca and Sophia have been friends what seems like forever. Frankie is a well to do, only child type who has beauty, money, and attention. Sophie is much quieter, preferring to curl up with a book, and lives an ordinary, non-dramatic life with her mother and brother. The big clue to everything is the age-old story of two friends falling for the same guy. Never good! As the mystery unfolds with twists and turns across almost two decades, Sophie’s remains have surfaced, and her older brother asked Frankie to return to their little seaside town to help solve the mystery of Sophie’s death. Thus begins the alternating points of view……….. Frankie gives the present day, and Sophie tells her story to the reader through her diary.

It has been called a perfect thriller, beautifully written, a page turner, with great character description, and great plots that connect all the dots. A challenge is to see if the reader can figure out the mystery before the end of book reveal……..and no cheating!

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People Aren’t Always What They Seem…”Tom Clancy Point of Contact”, by Mike Maden

In a thriller that could be taken from current headlines, Tom Clancy Point of Contact will keep its readers on their toes with suspense and a very active last hundred or so pages. Even though the beloved author, Tom Clancy, has passed, his essence is carried on by various authors writing in the same vane as Clancy. In Point of Contact, The Campus and Jack Ryan, Jr. continue their secret work as they have done in previous novels by Clancy. In this episode, Jack Ryan, Jr. is partnered with Paul Brown at the request of Senator Rhodes, a defense contractor, who needs a job in Singapore done very quickly. Jack Ryan knows nothing of Paul Brown’s secrets……not exactly just the mild-mannered forensic accountant he appears to be. And, Paul Brown has no idea that Jack Ryan, Jr. works for The Campus, a top-secret American intelligence agency. An interesting pairing for sure.

The Tom Clancy novels are known by their readers as taking place in the Jack Ryan universe. Together Ryan and Brown race to escape both the killer storm bearing down on Singapore, and the assassins who have been paid to see that both are exterminated. They do this for self-preservation and to try to prevent a global catastrophe.

Tom Clancy Point of Contact describes in detail how people who are essentially good, can do very bad things, can be manipulated, lied to, threatened and bullied. In this Clancy-eske thriller, there are fights, espionage, betrayal, politicians, gangsters, and special operators. To round out the Clancy character filled novel, also added are beautiful women and dangerous bad guys. We all know how things can go wrong in the blink of an eye, and people aren’t always what they seem.

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Place of Secrets, Mystery and Witchcraft…”Into the Water”, by Paula Hawkins

If reading a “sleep snatcher” mystery is your forte` then London born author Paula Hawkin’s book, Into the Water is perfect for your next read. Hawkin’s Girl on the Train was a mega hit both as a book and on film. She has a method of telling the story using many characters, each with their own issues, then weaving them all into the finished plot. She has also been given kudos for making each chapter brief, yet jam packed with pieces of the plot puzzle.

Nel Abbott had lived in Mill House by the river her entire life. “The Drowning Pool” as it was called since medieval times was just as much a part of her memory growing up as anything else. It was an intimidating place of secrets, mystery, and witchcraft. Nel had been so consumed with interest in the stories of “troublesome” women who had their lives taken in the Drowning Pool……..some walked in of their own choice, but others had “assistance”………. unsolicited assistance. It is suspected that Nel, a single mother of a teenager, had unwanted assistance in her death in the “Drowning Pool”. And with that, Into the Water takes the reader on an unsettling journey to find the truth.

Hawkin’s “delivers an urgent, twisting, deeply satisfying read that hinges on the deceptiveness of emotion and memory, as well as the devastating ways that the past can reach a long arm into the present”. You know what “they” say……..”Beware a calm surface……you never know what lies beneath”.

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Unfolding at A Frenetic Pace, Being Told in Two Tenses at Once…Past and Present…”The Black Book”, by James Patterson

It is quite a quandary when one is accused of murder and they cannot remember a single detail of the incident. And, that person was also caught up in the shooting and sustained near fatal injuries. Such is the premise of the story line in The Black Book by James Patterson. Author Patterson has been a very prolific mystery writer with several series over a period of several years. In this book, Billy Harney comes from a family of cops in Chicago, and has the ethic that he will do anything to excel at his job.

Avid readers have, at times, become disenchanted with Patterson’s work, claiming that he was basically just pumping out books for royalties and not giving much attention to the structure and intensity of the plot, as he did in Along Came a Spider, and Kiss the Girls. However, The Black Book seems to have revived their enthusiasm for Patterson’s work. Even Patterson himself admitted that The Black Book was his best work in years. The plot is said to unfold at a frenetic pace, being told in two tenses at once……past and present. Even the most adept fans thought they had figured out the end of the book, only to find that the actual ending was a complete surprise and was excellently delivered.

Most of the time, Patterson’s books are checked out of the library by many readers, because they do not feel the commercialized mysteries are worth buying. However, The Black Book has changed their minds….. they are just hoping they do not have to wait another several years for another block buster mystery. The Black Book left its readers wanting more.

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Was it Suicide, An Accident or Murder???…”Man Overboard”, by J.A. Jance

Man Overboard is a fast moving suspense thriller full of action on every page. J. A. Jance keeps her readers guessing as to where the story is heading. Her storyline is full of cyber bullying, betrayal, intrigue, suspicious deaths and manipulation.

Roger McGeary’s gets an all-expense paid cruise and he’s having the time of his life on it. That is until he falls over the balcony of his suite. Was it suicide, an accident or murder? The panama police called it a ‘misadventure’ to cover their bases. But Roger’s Aunt Julia isn’t happy with that and she wants answers. So she calls on Rogers’s childhood friend Stuart Ramey and his security team to solve the mystery.

Stuart, Cami, and Ali, part of High Noon Enterprise online security firm, soon find out they’re dealing with a killer who is targeting victims who lost parents to suicide and is attempting to drive them to the same tragic end. And on top of it all…the killer isn’t working alone…

Man Overboard is the 12th book in the series, and although you don’t need to read the others to be able to follow the characters…it will make you want to listen to the others.

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