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Posts Tagged ‘Murder’

Book 2 from the 2014 Booklist: Don’t Scream by Wendy Corsi Staub

Saturday, March 7th, 2015

Finished: January 15, 2014
Don’t Scream by Wendy Corsi

Don’t Tell A Soul. . .

In a remote, heavily wooded area near the Berkshires of Massachusetts, Rachel Lorant died on her birthday. But she didn’t die alone. That night, her four sorority sisters make a solemn, trembling pledge. They will never reveal what has just happened in those woods – ever. Instead, they will take their terrible secret to their graves.

Don’t Think About The Past. . .

Now, ten years later, their secret is coming back to haunt them as each receives a card in the mail from Rachel: “Happy Birthday to Me. xoxo R.” It’s clear that someone knows what happened that night. Someone is stalking them and sending mysterious, chilling gifts that only they can understand – deadly warnings of what is to come. For the sins of the past have come back with a vengeance, and a killer will see that they all pay in blood.

And Whatever You Do – Don’t Scream. . .

Brynn Costello has never felt such pure fear. She didn’t want any part in what happened so long ago, but now, the mother of two will do anything to stay alive and protect her family – even if it means matching wits with a killer she can’t see…a twisted psychopath who is closer than she thinks and who is saving her death for last.

I admit, I took horrible notes on this book, and my memory fails me slightly on the ending…
but do I remember some of the important parts.

This was an Audible sale book, and I remember when I read the above description that it was kind of a “I know What You Did Last Summer” type of thing.
Which is of course why I bought it… I was hoping it would be good and be a slasher type as well.

It did not disappoint, I was very pleased with the twist and turns this author threw at me, and I even have it on my books I will reread… because some of the scenes… the birthday party.. oh my!

HAHA, I really suggest that you grab this book if you want a little mystery, a little betrayal, and a whole lot of messed up…

It was a very good book.

TaTa for Now,
Amanda Ellen

Book 31 in the 2013 Booklist: Dexter’s Final Cut: A Novel by Jeff Lindsay

Thursday, December 12th, 2013

Dexter’s Final Cut: A Novel by Jeff Lindsay
Finished: November 21

If I were ambitious and fair to whatever readers I have, I would tell you what number this is in the series of Dexter books by Jeff Lindsay, but since I’m not, I won’t. 

This series started out as the basis for a loose interpretation of the TV show that was on Showtime, Dexter. If you know anything about it, Dexter is a serial killer that kills other bad people. I think this is the first series that turned into a TV show or movie, that I enjoy each the book and the TV show. I will say that after season 1 of the TV show, the books and the show do not really have the same plot line, and this is probably why I enjoy them both.

Lights. Camera. Mayhem. You won’t find this story on television.
Hollywood gets more than it bargained for when television’s hottest star arrives at the Miami Police Department and develops an intense, professional interest in a camera-shy blood spatter analyst named Dexter Morgan.
Mega-star Robert Chase is famous for losing himself in his characters. When he and a group of actors descend on the Miami Police Department for “research”, Chase becomes fixated on Dexter Morgan, the blood spatter analyst with a sweet tooth for doughnuts and a seemingly average life. To perfect his role, Chase is obsessed with shadowing Dexter’s every move and learning what really makes him tick. There is just one tiny problem…Dexter’s favorite hobby involves hunting down the worst killers to escape legal justice, and introducing them to his special brand of playtime. It’s a secret best kept out of the spotlight and away from the prying eyes of bloated Hollywood egos if Dexter wants to stay out of the electric chair. The last thing he needs is bright lights and the paparazzi…but even Dexter isn’t immune to the call of fame.

Oh Dexter, the tangled webs we weave!

TaTa,
Amanda Ellen

Book29 in the 2013 Booklist: Gone: Michael Bennett, Book 6 by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge

Thursday, December 12th, 2013

Gone: Michael Bennett, Book 6 by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge
Finished: October 21

This is a series I started many moons ago when I was on a serious James Patterson kick. I found the series by accident, and have followed it ever since I caught up with it. This is one of the 2 series by James Patterson I read and look forward to the new installment every year.

A crime lord has declared war on America. Only Detective Michael Bennett knows why.
Manuel Perrine doesn’t fear anyone or anything. A charismatic and ruthless leader, Perrine slaughters rivals as effortlessly as he wears his trademark white linen suit. Detective Michael Bennett once managed to put Perrine behind bars, the only official in the US ever to accomplish that. But now Perrine is out, and he has sworn to find and kill Bennett and everyone dear to him.
Detective Bennett, along with his 10 adopted children, their nanny, and his grandfather, are hidden safely on a rural California farm, with guards courtesy of the FBI’s witness protection program. Perrine begins to embark on an escalating series of assassinations across the country, killings whose brazenness and audacity bring into question the possibility of safety and law in the U.S. The FBI has no choice but to ask Detective Bennett to risk it all in Perrine’s war on America.
With explosive action and fierce villainy that rivals James Bond movies at their best, Gone is the next astounding novel by James Patterson.

I really love the 10 kids, and the Priest AKA the grandfather he’s a hoot!

This book was good as advertised. I enjoyed it, and of course will be anxiously awaiting next years installment. I love this crew of characters!

TaTa,
Amanda Ellen

Book28 in the 2013 booklist: Cold Days: The Dresden Files, Book 14 by Jim Butcher

Thursday, December 12th, 2013

Cold Days: The Dresden Files, Book 14 by Jim Butcher
Finished: October 11

Let’s cue the tears now, and the sense of being lost. I have reached book 14 of the Dresden Files series. There are no more published books in this series yet. Whatever shall I do, this has been my go to series when I want a new book!

Harry Dresden lives!
After being murdered by a mystery assailant, navigating his way through the realm between life and death, and being brought back to the mortal world, Harry realizes that maybe death wasn’t all that bad – because he is no longer Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard. He is now Harry Dresden, Winter Knight to Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness.
After Harry had no choice but to swear his fealty, Mab wasn’t about to let something as petty as death steal away the prize she had sought for so long. And now, her word is his command, no matter what she wants him to do, no matter where she wants him to go, and no matter who she wants him to kill. Guess which one Mab wants first?
Of course, it won’t be an ordinary, everyday assassination. Mab wants her newest minion to pull off the impossible: kill an immortal. No problem there, right? And to make matters worse, there exists a growing threat to an unfathomable source of magic that could land Harry in the sort of trouble that will make death look like a holiday.
Beset by enemies new and old, Harry must gather his friends and allies, prevent the annihilation of countless innocents, and find a way out of his eternal subservience before his newfound powers claim the only thing he has left to call his own… his soul.

Now, that sounds really mellow dramatic, but it really is a good book. It was full of twists, turns, and a bunch of WTF moments!
I really enjoyed it, and it was left open for a book 15, and I researched and researched, followed Jim Butcher on Twitter… and found that there will be a book 15!
Oh happy day!
No word when it comes out, but I have seen that the editors have it, and publishing should happen soon!
I can’t wait, I have missed Harry Dresden and his gang of friends!
So glad to know the series isn’t over yet!

TaTa,
Amanda Ellen

Book 24 in the 2013 Booklist: Nickeled-and-Dimed to Death: A Devereaux’s Dime Store Mystery, Book 2 by Denise Swanson

Thursday, December 12th, 2013

Nickeled-and-Dimed to Death: A Devereaux’s Dime Store Mystery, Book 2 by Denise Swanson
Finished: July 13

This was book 2 in a series I picked up on through an Audible sale. I really enjoyed it, obviously I did, or I wouldn’t be talking about book 2 waiting to see if there will be a book 3! 
More hunky Jakeness in this one! Not as much perhaps as the first, but boy does he make me swoon!
We also get some Noah, *rolls eyes*, he tries too hard.
I love these characters, Boon and Poppy seem like they could be my best friends!

Dev’s five-and-dime may be doing well, but her love life is in turmoil. She’s torn between Deputy U.S. Marshal Jake Del Vecchio, who is on an undercover assignment, and her ex-beau Noah Underwood, the local doctor from a high-society family. So she welcomes the distraction when Elise Whitmore offers her a great deal on antique chocolate molds that would be perfect for her Easter gift baskets. But do the molds actually belong to Elise’s soon-to-be ex-husband? In buying them, has Dev committed a felony?
When Elise is found shot to death, the mystery deepens – and Dev’s good friend Boone, who discovered the body, is taken into custody. With the help of her best buds, Dev must clear Boone’s name and find the real killer. Good thing that when it comes to amateur sleuths, they broke the mold with Dev Sinclair.

Jealousy, it will get you every time, I tell ya!

TaTa,
Amanda Ellen

Book 11 in the 2013 Book list:Defending Jacob: A Novel by William Landay

Thursday, March 28th, 2013

Finished: March 27
Defending Jacob: A Novel by William Landay
This book was a suggestion from RO , and have her thoughts on it too . If I recall properly, this book was tied for the number 1 spot on her end of the year top 10 books for 2012.
And it rightly deserved that spot. After reading this book all I could say was “Wow”. I hope I never have to be put in the situation this family had to be in. Murder genes, is your son a cold blooded killer, is it wrong if you think he could be? Just a million things in this story and the author wraps it up nicely! I really enjoyed this book, and I’m still not convinced of Jacob’s guilt or innocence. But the things this family goes through during the whole process and how they deal with things when the worst is over, I was just shocked! Yes, even Taylor started to enjoy this book as well on his passing trips through the living room while I listened! Now I’m on to some somewhat nonfiction which is another suggestion of Ro’s, so far she’s 2 for 2, let’s see if she makes it 3 for 3!
TaTa,
Amanda Ellen