I was quite intrigued with the start of this book. But when she didn’t report rape. And didn’t defend herself in front of the tribunal effectively … I got pissed off. Quit at 43%.
Let’s say you want to write a murder mystery. …
You need some kind of unique hook.
This 2024 novel is unique and fascinating.
Profane, motorcycle riding, smoking, tattooed, pierced, anti-social and damaged …
… Maggie Moore is a surprising genius when it comes to words, a savant able to solve any linguistic puzzle.
The top student in her forensic linguistics class, she’s tapped by local police to use her skills to decipher harrowing notes left by a stalker-turned-rapist—and succeeds brilliantly.
But when the daughter of a local mayor is abducted, Maggie isn’t sure she’s the right person to help the police solve the crime. Given what happened to her best childhood friend, Maggie just might be too close to this one.
Yet she knows the authorities in this rural south-Central Florida town cannot crack the case without her special skill.
Along with her new best friend, a detective Jackson, Maggie begins to analyze the texts, emails, and verbal tics of various suspects . . . and comes to a disturbing conclusion …
This sequence I enjoyed more than the first 6 books.
Lindsay Boxer, Cindy Thomas, Claire Washburn and Jill Bernhardt—stars of 1st to Die, 2nd Chance and 3rd Degree—are the founding members of the Women’s Murder Club.
Yuki Castellano joins the Club in 4th of July. Together, they solve crimes in their home city of San Francisco and often meet up to talk about clues and life, over Mexican food and drinks at Susie’s.
A terrible fire in a wealthy suburban home leaves a married couple dead and Detective Lindsay Boxer and her partner Rich Conklin searching for clues. And after California’s golden boy Michael Campion has been missing for a month, there finally seems to be a lead in his case-a very devastating lead.
As fire after fire consume couples in wealthy, comfortable homes, Lindsay and the Murder Club must race to find the arsonists responsible and get to the bottom of Michael Campion’s disappearance. But suddenly the flames are raging too close to home.
Someone is killing the richest people in the city-and the Women’s Murder Club will pay a high price for hunting him.
At the party of the year, San Francisco’s most glamorous couple is targeted by a killer-and it’s the perfect murder.
While Detective Lindsay Boxer investigates the high-profile killings, a saintly street preacher is brutally executed. Reporter Cindy Thomas inquires into this neglected case …
During an intimate dinner party, a cat burglar breaks into the home of A-list actor Marcus Dowling. When his wife walks in on the thief, the situation quickly teeters out of control, leaving an empty safe and a lifeless body.
The same night, a woman and her infant child are ruthlessly gunned down in an abandoned garage. The killer hasn’t left a shred of evidence, except for a foreboding and cryptic message: WCF, the letters written in blood-red letters.
Detective Lindsay Boxer’s long-awaited wedding celebration becomes a distant memory when she is called to investigate a horrendous crime: a badly injured teenage girl is left for dead, and her newborn baby has been kidnapped without a trace.
As her marriage begins to suffer from the pressures of work and her new boss watches her every move, Lindsay discovers that the victim may be keeping secrets as well.
At the same time, Assistant District Attorney Yuki Castellano is prosecuting the biggest case of her life-a woman who has been accused of murdering her husband in front of her two young children.
Yuki’s career rests on a guilty verdict, so when Lindsay finds evidence that could save the defendant, she is forced to choose. Should she trust her best friend or follow her instinct?
My old Elementary school is going strong. I pass by often as my brother still lives in the Glamorgan district in Calgary.
Glamorgan Elementary is ALL fond memories for me. I’m one of those weird kids who liked school. 😀
I did get LOST first day walking home from school!
Glamorgan Elementary was built to accommodate the growing population in the neighbourhood, which was rapidly developing post-World War II. It was the very edge of the city. Next block to my family home (bought 1963) was a farm with horses.
It was MODERN — architecture reflected the educational philosophies of the time, emphasizing open spaces and accessibility. That turned out to be a mistake, I’d say. Open classrooms are too loud and distracting.
Actually, it was only the Grade 6 students who used the open area / library. I recall lower grades being in regular classrooms.
In Grade 6 me and my buddies — including Brian Mason — arrived Monday mornings with our top 10 lists scrawled on scrap paper. We compared our updated TOP 10 A.M. RADIO SONGS … and TOP 10 GIRLS. 😀
Hey — it was a more sexist era.
His Mom was a teacher at the school.
Glenn P. Michell wrote up a personal account of his experience at the school and community.
Another action packed novel with Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers.
Righteous Prey (2022) is 32nd in the series. Virgil finally gets a publishing contract!
This time our heroes are trying to takedown a group of vigilante billionaires — all who got rich by early investment in Bitcoin.
The vigilantes make a list of American assholes — people most deserving of assassination.
For example, one target is exactly like Rush Limbaugh, a dangerous rightwing extremist radio shock jock.
The general public is sympathetic to the killers.
“We’re going to murder people who need to be murdered.” So begins a press release from a mysterious group known only as The Five, shortly after a vicious predator is murdered in San Francisco.
The Five is believed to be made up of vigilante killers who are very bored… and very rich. They target the worst of society — rapists, murderers, and thieves — and then use their unlimited resources to offset the damage done by those who they’ve killed, donating untraceable bitcoin to charities and victims via the dark net.
The Five soon become the most popular figures on social media, a modern-day Batman… though their motives may not be entirely pure.
There’s a real anti-Gundamentalist theme in this book, as well.
It’s far too easy to acquire weapons of war in the USA.
… Hit Man follows an undercover New Orleans police contractor who poses as a reliable hitman as he tries to save a woman in need.
The basic premise was based on the true story of a college professor who worked for the Houston police in the late 1980s and 1990s as a fake hitman …
Adria Arjona as Madison Figueroa Masters is gorgeous and most charismatic.
The HIT MAN is Glen Powell as Gary Johnson, college professor and tech guy turned undercover mole. … Or it might be Justin Hartley as the HIT MAN. Those two are probably the same actor. 😀
On Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 295 critics’ reviews are positive.
“Listen for the Lie,” (2024) … Stephen King called “a world-class whodunit” …
It’s a comedy, as well. Laughs on every page.
It follows Lucy Chase, a woman believed to have killed her best friend years prior.
Lucy, who has amnesia about the entire incident, was never officially charged or arrested for the murder, though it is generally believed that she did it.
When Ben Owens, a true crime podcaster, digs up the cold case again for his podcast five years later, Lucy joins in helping him uncover who the true killer is.
The comic actor returns as the worst-informed person on TV for a one-off that tackles the big issues – and quite possibly causes permanent damage to the baffled academics she interviews …
As ever, she interviews a variety of experts “to ask some of the most significant questions you can ask with a mouth”. …
Prime Suspect — the book — was published by Lynda La Plante in 2019, long after the end of the TV series.
Not nearly as good.
I found DCI Jane Tennison mostly annoying.
The pace too slow.
Not recommended.
When a prostitute is found murdered in her bedsit, the Metropolitan police set to work finding the perpetrator of this brutal attack. DNA samples lead them straight to known criminal George Marlow. The police think they’ve found their man, but things are not quite what they seem….
Desperate to remove all doubt around her suspect, Tennison struggles to make the charges stick. And then a second body turns up.
With the team against her, DCI Jane Tennison is in a race against time to catch a dangerous criminal - and prove she’s just as tough as any man.
A glutton for punishment, I next read Prime Suspect 3 – Silent Victims (2019).
Better — but I still wanted to push Jane Tennison into the river.
When a body is found in one of London’s poorest districts, the coroner’s report identifies the victim as young, black and female, but impossibly anonymous.
One thing is clear to Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison about this victim – that news of her murder will tear apart a city already cracking with racial tensions, hurling Scotland Yard and Tennison herself into a maelstrom of shocking accusations and sudden, wrenching violence.
As London’s brutal killer remains at large, Tennison is locked in a struggle to overcome her station house’s brutal chauvinism and insidious politicking. And as the department’s deeply rooted racism rears its head and threatens to overshadow every facet of her new investigation, the trail of her prime suspect is growing colder.
I didn’t get very far into Prime Suspect 2 – A Face in the Crowd.
I streamed season 3 of Shetland because I’d seen a few pundits saying it was best of the 9 seasons, so far.
Shetland is critically acclaimed for good reason. The acting and writing is superb.
But it is hard to watch, at times.
For example, the rape aftermath depicted in season 3 even disturbedAnn Cleeves, the author of the books on which this TV drama is based.
DI Jimmy Perez faces a gripping new single mystery.
When a young man disappears on the overnight ferry to Shetland, the team embark on a challenging case that leads them from the suspicious close-knit communities of the remote Shetland Islands to Perez’s old stomping grounds in Glasgow.
As they start to unpick this increasingly complex conspiracy, Perez is aided by, and becomes romantically involved with, enigmatic police official Asha.
But he is unprepared for the ruthlessness of his adversaries, who are willing to take an appalling step to protect their interests: one that will have a devastating effect on them all.
Rick McCharles 