Quite good.

Moment of Truth (2000) is 5th in the entertaining Rosato & Associates series.

The central hook of the story revolves around a striking premise: a man frames himself for murder to protect his daughter.

When attorney Jack Newlin comes home to find his wife, Honor, murdered in their elegant dining room, he is instantly convinced he knows who committed the crime. Desperate to shield the real killer, Jack makes a split-second decision to doctor the crime scene so all the physical evidence points directly to him before calling the police to confess.

To guarantee his own conviction, Jack purposefully hires Mary DiNunzio, the most inexperienced rookie associate at the hot Philadelphia law firm Rosato & Associates.

Jack’s plan hits a major snag when Mary’s sharp legal instincts kick in. She quickly realizes she isn’t defending a guilty person trying to look innocent, but rather an innocent man trying to prove he is guilty. Refusing to let her client sabotage his own life, Mary risks everything to investigate the real conspiracy behind the murder.

A treat. It’s always a treat when the next edition in the life of Cork O’Connor is published.

One of my favourite book series

God’s Country (2026) is another fantastic read.

Set primarily within the vast and beautiful Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of Minnesota, the story explores heavy themes of moral injury, evil, and redemption,

On a family canoe trip, Cork discovers a messy, abandoned campsite. Upon uncovering a dead body, Cork sends his family back to safety and sets off alone to track down a missing friend who was ahead, guiding 3 tourists.

Cork soon discovers that Cordell has been taken hostage by the ruthless Kennedy brothers.

The brothers are forcing Cordell to recreate a trek he guided years earlier for their late criminal father, hoping to locate a hidden stash of valuable loot.

As Cork pursues them, he is captured himself, forcing him to navigate escalating danger, wrestle with his darkest survival instincts, and take justice into his own hands

As I enjoyed the 1st book in the detective John Corey series, I continued with the 2nd ➙ The Lion’s Game (2000).

Quite good, as well.

The former homocide cop is surprisingly now working as a contractor for the fictional FBI Anti-Terrorist Task Force in New York City.

Asad Khalil—a highly trained and ruthless Libyan terrorist known as “The Lion“—fakes a defection to the West.

He arrives at New York’s JFK Airport aboard an international flight where something goes horribly wrong: the plane lands in total radio silence, and investigators find that every passenger on board has been killed.

Khalil escapes into the United States to embark on a bloody, targeted campaign of revenge against the American military pilots who participated in the 1986 bombing of Libya, an attack that killed his family.

Partnered with FBI agent Kate Mayfield, Corey must track the clever and dangerous assassin across the country in a race against time.

I quite enjoyed this book.

The coming of age stories and love triangle are painful — and painfully long. She could have cut that down by 50%.

BUT learning about Italy under Mussolini during the rise to power of Hitler is fascinating.

Mussolini was a strongman fascist dictator by 1922.

I hadn’t realized that Mussolini initially viewed Hitler with a mixture of condescension, ideological skepticism, and strategic distrust. Many Italians thought that Italy would join England as an ally in WW II.

Eternal by Lisa Scottoline is a sweeping historical fiction novel set in Rome during the rise of Italian Fascism and World War II.

The author had long wanted to write about this era, inspired when she was a university student taught by author Philip Roth.

The narrative heavily explores the enduring power of friendship, family, loss, resilience, and the historical reality of ordinary citizens caught in political terror.

Recommended.

Mussolini was caught trying to flee Italy. Killed by machine gun April 28, 1945. His body transported to Milan. In the public square of Piazzale Loreto an angry crowd kicked and spat on him. Finally, his body and longtime mistress, Clara Petacci were hung upside down by their heels from the girders of a half-built Esso gas station.

That was the end of fascism in Italy.

A very good book.

Look Closer (2022) is a critically acclaimed psychological thriller novel written by David Ellis.

Simon and Vicky.

He is an arrogant law professor, and she is a dedicated advocate for domestic violence survivors.

When a beautiful local socialite is found dead, their elaborate web of lies begins to unravel, exposing a high-stakes con involving a $20 million trust fund, secret affairs, and long-held grudges.

Reviewers frequently compare its twisty, rollercoaster pacing to smash hits like Gone Girl and Strangers on a Train.

This one will keep you guessing.

I found the finale very satisfying.