Genre: Thriller

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Harlan Coben has a way of grabbing me with the first few chapters of his books and never letting go.  His characters are all people who capture your interest, and his story lines are always exhilarating. Missing You is definitely one of his best.

 It begins with NYPD Detective Kat Donovan coming upon a picture of her ex-fiancé, Jeff,  on an on-line dating site.  Jeff broke her heart eighteen years before, and she realizes she never got over him.  She sends him a message, and the mystery deepens.

 In a secondary plot thread, Brandon Phelps, a teenage boy living with a wealthy mother, asks for Kat's help. His mother left several days before with a man she met on the same on-line dating site, and Brandon believes she is now in trouble.  Kat, who is dealing with doubts about the death of her policeman father eighteen years ago, reluctantly agrees to help.
 
There are enough threads to this story to keep you on the edge of your seat, and Coben is one of the few authors who can weave threads together without ever losing the story.
The "bad guys" in Missing You  are truly evil, the victims are truly tortured, and the heroes are truly heroic.

Believe me, you do not want to miss this thriller!

- Beverly


Publisher - Dutton Adult
Date of Publication- March 18, 2014

Genre: Legal Thriller

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What happens when a good man gets away with a terrible act?  Does he ever really get away?  Are we all morally compromised or is it just a strong fight or flight instinct that rules our decisions?

Tommy Ensor is a hero cop who is run over by a hit and run driver one nasty night.
Frank Stevenson is a highly regarded judge, a good man with a loving family, who accidentally strikes down Ensor and continues driving.  Terry Nye and Rose Tafoya are two Major Crimes detectives who are determined to solve the case.

Author William Wood has written a character driven novel that makes you stop and think about things most people take for granted.  When everyone is the good guy, who do we root for, and are we all capable of being the bad guy.


I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes thought provoking books.  I, for one, am going to track down more books by this excellent author.

- Beverly


Publisher-Turner Publishing Co.
Date of Publication- February 3, 2014

Genre: Legal Thriller

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The wonderful thing about reading is that there is always another terrific author introducing you to a group of new "friends." Michael Ponsor did a good job making me want to know more about his characters. The theme of The Hanging Judge is a common one. A drive by shooting and the arrest of a young man from an impoverished background is nothing new, but Ponsor introduces it in a new light. First of all, the death penalty is on the table here, and we get a bit of an insight into what that entails. Second of all, the reader feels a connection to the judge, the prosecutor and the defense attorney and can relate to each of them at various times. Judge David Norcross is probably meant to be the main character, and watching him fumble through a romance is a nice break from the seriousness of the trial.

Another terrific addition is the "story within a story" bit of history that the author introduces. Interspersed between the chapters, in italicized writing, is the true story of Dominic Daley and James Halligan who were executed in 1806 for a crime they did not commit. We can make the connection between the two cases as we move through both stories.

Most interesting to me though, were the many little twists that came out differently than I predicted. Ponsor is not afraid to have bad things happen to good people, and this makes the story one that I would definitely recommend.

- Beverly


Publisher- OPEN ROAD MEDIA MYSTERY AND THRILLER
Date of Publication - December 3, 2013

Genre: Historical Thriller

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One of my favorite things about ebooks is that older books are reintroduced to us. At God's Mercy was first published in paperback form in 2003. This historical and suspenseful novel was published again in ebook format in February of 2014. Happily I found it this time and lost myself in the story of two brothers.

The story opens in Poland during WWII. A young woman running for her life abandons her newborn twin sons in order to save their lives. They are brought to America and raised by two different families.

Fifty years later Rabbi Jeremiah Neumann lives a pious life in New York, raising his daughters to be observant Jews. He and his wife are surprised to discover the existence of his twin brother Isaiah, a Priest in a nearby church. The brothers meet and decide to travel to Poland and learn more about their past. Page by page we join them as the past and the present mesh together and the atrocities of the past touch the lives of the present.
I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy history mixed in with suspense.

- Beverly

Publisher- Jewish Fiction
Date of Publication- January 16,2014