A Controlled Serial Killer Almost Outwits the FBI

Dr. Iris Ballard, a former FBI profiler, watched her dearly loved husband brutally murdered and nearly lost her life at the same time. For the past two years, since she left the FBI, she's been teaching at a local college and using her free time to drink. When her episodes become public, even the teaching job is put at risk.

At this low point, Luke Hudson, her former FBI partner, comes back into her life. He's working a particularly ugly case. Young, single mothers are being brutally murdered and left in the woods in the water. This has earned the killer the nickname of the Woodsman. At first, Iris wants nothing to do with the case, but Luke leaves her the files over night. The case intrigues her and in the morning she begs Luke to let her work with him.

This story is psychologically challenging, but rather gory. The killer is a total control freak, not only able to control the young women he murders, but his colleagues as well. Unlike most detective novels, the identity of the killer is revealed about half way through the book. From that point on, the action focuses on catching him.

I enjoyed this book. It's well written. Iris and Luke are characters you can empathize with, and the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat. My only reservation is that it is rather gory, so if that bothers you, this may not be your book. However, if you like a gripping psychological thriller, I recommend this one.

I received this book from Alibi for this review.   

A Town in Turmoil

Mammoth is a sleep little town, but this morning there's an earthquake followed by radio broadcasts that have the residents fleeing. One person, who doesn't think it's so bad, is Billy. He and his friends have targeted the town to rob the local bank. With no people in town this looks like an easy job.

Tori, Billy's daughter, is attending a camp for long distance runners outside of town. The earthquake shakes up the camp, but there seems to be no immediate danger until Billy and his friends show up. They can't get out of town because of all the residents clogging the roads, so they decide to go over the mountain where the camp is located.

The story moves between Billy and his gang, Tori, and the local police trying to figure out what is happening. The chapters are short, but moving back and forth quickly between so many characters can make the book hard to follow.

The novel is character driven and the author does a good job of showing us the character's hopes and dreams and how their perception of the world leads them to act the way they do. However, with so many characters, it's hard to become involved with one and be interested in their development.

I wasn't surprised by the incident driving the plot, it seemed quite obvious from the beginning. The only question was why

it happened. The issue isn't resolved until the end and by then it has become almost irrelevant.

I can't recommend this book unless you enjoy character driving novels that involve lots of characters. I found the book difficult to get into. I think I would have enjoyed it more if he had concentrated on only one of two characters.

I received this book from PR by the Book for this review.

The Rootlets Save Plantasy Land

The Rootlets are looking forward to a day at Plantasy Land. Each year when the park opens Mr. Fungo Fungi, owner of the park, plans special surprises. This year the surprise will be to have the magician, The Great Zucchini, make something big disappear. When the Rootlets arrive at the park, something is wrong. The flag is drooping and the rides are cracked and broken. Luckily, their super powers help them fix the problems.

The illustrations and the characters with vegetable characteristics are delightful. I'm sure four to seven-year-olds will enjoy it. Eight and nine-year-olds may be able to read it for themselves. The message is a good one. Gardens need love and care. Even if they're damaged they will grow back. The book is well made with heavy paper. Young children will be able to enjoy it without worrying about damage.

I received this book from PR by the Book for this review.

A Pancake Breakfast Teaches Ethan About the Environment

Ethan loves pancakes before he goes fishing. His mother explains to him how animals, plants and people combine to give him the pancakes he loves, and he leaves to go fishing feeling thankful for his world. However, wanting to make a big splash in the lake where he fishes, he throws in an oil can and things begin to go dreadfully wrong.

Children, particularly three to five-year-olds, should enjoy this book, although children as old as nine may like it. The pictures are colorful and the story is easy to understand. It is also easy to read for the older children.

My only disappointment with the book is that the solution presented to the problem of pollution is simplistic and unrealistic. Parents or teachers should be ready to talk with the children about the problem of cleaning up pollution and how it is not an easy process.

I received this book from PR by the Book for this review.   

A Teenage Romance and an Unsolved Murder

Ashton is back in Gilt Hollow. Four years ago he was sentenced to Juvenile Detention for a murder he didn't commit. His parents didn't stand by him, and he thought he'd lost the support of his best friend, Willow. Now he wants to know who did kill Daniel, the boy he as accused of murdering.

Willow has had a difficult four years. She's been defending Ashton, but since she hasn't heard from him in spite of all the letters she wrote, she's no longer sure what to believe. It's her senior year, and things seem to be getting better. She has a new friend, Lisa, and Brayden, one of the popular boys in school, wants to date her. But once she sees Ashton, she feels the same pull that made them best friends.

Soon it becomes clear that someone wants Ashton out of town and is trying to frame him to get him sent back to prison. Willow is still convinced Ashton is innocent and together they work to find out who did kill Daniel.

The book is filled with eccentric characters who paint, make pottery, and wear strange clothes and dreadlocks. These characters make an interesting contrast with the more traditional Willow and Ashton. Not all the townspeople are harmless eccentrics. The chief of police seems to have it in for Ashton and will bend rules to get him out of town.

Ashton and Willow are sympathetic characters. You can't help but feel Ashton's pain and Willow's indecision. Their struggles are very real.

My only disappointment was that it took almost half the book begin solving the mystery. The first half was devoted to Willow and Ashton reconnecting. However, once they start looking for clues, the pace picks up and the resolution is quite unexpected.

I received this book from Booklook Bloggers for this review.

Death Stalks a Civil War Reenactment

Old World Wisconsin is a living history site devoted to telling the story of the German Immigrants to Wisconsin. The site is beautifully designed with farms showing how the settlers lived from the earliest immigrants to those after the Civil War.

Chloe Ellefson is a Curator at Old World Wisconsin and very proud of the living history museum. She is planning a major event about the Civil War and wants to highlight the lives of the individuals, but her boss has different ideas. He wants to stage a reenactment of a Civil War battle. Chloe is against it, but he insists believing it will bring more visitors. However, when a reenactor's body turns up on one of the farms and Roelke, a policeman and Chloe's boyfriend, suspects murder, the celebration becomes more complicated.

The story takes place on two levels. One is the present day celebration; the other is a tale of tho early settlers Klaus and Rosina, who are Roethe's forebears. The book follows both stories weaving the plots together with the historic site.

The author knows a great deal about the technical aspects of reenactments. I found it fascinating. The historical detail is also well done. The story of Klaus and Rosina has a tragic aspect that highlights the reality of the settler's lives where marriage was often a matter of convenience rather than love.

I did feel that the search for the murderer contained too much redundant information. It seemed that the characters kept repeating the same information over and over. However, the inclusion of the Civil War love story keeps the tension high.

If you enjoy a good mystery with a historical context, you may enjoy this one.

I received the book from Net Galley and Midnight Ink for this review.

Maggie Hope Faces a Copycat Jack the Ripper in WWII London

Maggie Hope is back in London after her trip to the United States in Mr. Churchill's party. While waiting for the release of her sister, Elise Hess, from Ravensbrook, Maggie is working at SOE, the Special Operations Executive Office. Maggie's boss is a frustrated little man who treats her as someone fit only to get tea for the men. Maggie has other ideas and keeps pushing for equal pay and pensions for the women in SOE.

Terror stalks the streets of wartime London in the form of a beast who murders young women. His profile suggests that he is someone who resents women getting jobs outside the home and taking the place of men. When young SOE volunteers are murdered. Maggie is caught up in helping to solve the case.

I have enjoyed all the Maggie Hope books, but I think this is one of the best. Maggie gets the opportunity to work with a competent police detective who, in contrast to her boss at SOE, respects her skills. I cringed at the way Maggie and the other women were treated in the SOE, but it gave Maggie a chance to highlight the prejudice against women and fight back.

Elise is trapped in her idealism. She's offered release from Ravensbrook in exchange for testimony against her associates, who were killing defective children. She refuses and although she knows she could die in the concentration camp, she would rather face that than testify.

This is the sixth Maggie Hope mystery. All take place during World War II highlighting various phases of the war effort behind the lines in Germany as well as in Britain and the United States. If you like a good mystery or are interested in WWII, I highly recommend these books.

I received this book from Random House for this Review.