Laura Freeman's Blog, page 21

The Depths

The Depths by Nick Thacker Science Fiction Horror

Science fiction is not normally my first choice for reading, but I considered writing a story with an underwater laboratory for students and liked the concept this book presented. It’s always good to step out of your comfort zone of genres and read something you might otherwise pass up.

Estranged couple Mark and Jen Adams are the main focus of the story when their 12-year-old son, Reese, is kidnapped, and Jen finds her murdered boss in her car.

Jen must find out what her boss was working on to save her son, and although Mark appears to be taken along for the ride, he becomes an important part of the puzzle. They are taken by sub to an underground energy production station five miles beneath the ocean’s surface. It is supposed to be an abandoned research center, but they soon find out it’s operational and being used for a deadly purpose.

For science fiction lovers, this is the book for you with plenty of details of the underwater world and its purpose. The writer uses different points of view to tell the story, and nearly every character takes a turn at revealing his or her history and thoughts on the project.

I had trouble with Jen coming up with battle plans that had major flaws in them and getting sidetracked with claw marks instead of figuring out how to save her son. But there is plenty of action and character interaction to satisfy everyone.

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Ice

Ice by Ed McBain 1983 Avon Books Police drama

This is an 87th Precinct Thriller which means it’s a police drama. When I started reading it, I thought of the “Barney Miller” television show where the police station is chaotic with different cases coming in and out to an assortment of police officers and their friendly competition with other precincts.

Characters are introduced fast and furious, but the early ones can be ignored. They only find the body of Sally Anderson, a dancer in a hit show, shot to death a few feet from her doorstep.

The 87th catches the case because cocaine dealer Paco Lopez was killed with the same gun. Det. Steve Carella is in charge of the case. We find out he’s a family man. Each cop has a back story. Det. Kling found his model wife in bed with another guy. The other cops are worried he’ll eat his gun. Det. Eileen Burke, the lone female, puts herself in danger undercover to catch the bad guys. Her back-up cops have the lowest IQ in the squad because she is left on her own more than once to apprehend the bad guy.

I don’t know if McBain supported female officers or thought the job was too dangerous for them.

The word “ice” stands for several things in the story. The obvious is cocaine, which is being sold by the victims. Two down on their luck and vicious characters, Brother Anthony, who dresses like a monk and speaks broken phrases of Latin, is a big brute who wants to take over the cocaine business with Fat Lady, a woman who uses a switchblade to disfigure and kill others. You may want to skip what they do to Paco’s ex-girlfriend in order to obtain Paco’s customer list.

Brother Anthony and Fat Lady are a step ahead of the cops as they track down the distributor of the cocaine in order to take over the business.

Another meaning for “ice” has to do with the theater and scalping of tickets. Because Sally was in a hit show and her boyfriend Tim Moore mentioned it, they find out the four people in the show were selling tickets to brokers for inflated prices, but it is a distraction from the real case.

The third person shot with the gun that killed Paco and Sally is Edelman, a diamond seller. They find $300,000 in his safe and begin looking for his connection to the cocaine.

McBain builds his story step by step through different points of view so the reader knows a little bit more than the detectives. McBain also uses long interviews with short questions and answers to give the feel of a real interrogation and provide the subtle clues that lead to the shooter.

For those who enjoy police stories or want to feel like they’re in the squad room, McBain provides the codes and procedures in detail. He wrote more than 50 crime stories so if you like this one, you’ll have plenty more to read.

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The Viscount and Vicar’s Daughter

The Viscount & Vicar’s Daughter by Mimi Matthews 2018 Historical Romance

This historical romance pairs the rake who is bored with drinking and having women drop into his bed when he meets the poor pretty miss who changes his life. It’s a basic and simple plot but one that works in the skilled hands of author Matthews.

Tristin Sinclair, viscount St. Ashton is 32 and his father threatens to cut him off unless he marries a woman he approves of and makes repairs to his neglected estate.

Valentine March is the daughter of the late Vicar who raised her after marrying her mother, Sara Caddington, who became pregnant and was thrown out by her father, a marquis. She wrote to him about being an orphan but he refused to reply so she became the companion of Lady Brightwell. Her daughter Felicity has her sites on Tristin.

Felicity is hateful and ruins drawings by Sara that Valentine treasured. Tristin finds her weeping and is smitten by her. They are interrupted and Tristin’s true identity and reputation are revealed to Valentine, who flees. Later when she seeks Lady Brightwell’s shawl, Tristin follows her and kisses her only to be found out. Her reputation is ruined and he promises to marry her.

Everyone warns her that Tristin has broken promises to other women and his father insists they wait a year before marrying, believing the worst of his son. Valentine wants to believe the best of him but will he disappoint her?

Others meddle into their lives and try to keep Tristin and Valentine apart. An old suitor is thrown in along with her family with some claiming her and others still ashamed of Sara’s behavior. The characters behave the way expected and don’t disappoint in the end.

When writing a romance, the main characters need to be fully developed and clash in the beginning but find common ground step by step as the story progresses. This includes external and internal conflict that is resolved before the end where the lovers come to the conclusion that they love one another and are meant to be together.

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Highland Ecstasy

Highland Ecstasy by Mary Burkhardt 1993 Kensington Publishing Corp.

Fans of “Outlander” should read this book. It has many of the same elements from Laird Ian Sinclair calling Lady Myrtle Prescott “Sassenach” to the laird hiding his identity because of the British.

English Earl Jonathan Prescott, who is dying, visits Kilmarock Castle to tell Ian he must leave Scotland forever because his brothers Malcolm and Hugh fought and died at Culloden. He will be tried as a Jacobite and traitor if he remains. Ian fakes his suicide. Prescott promises to send a savior to help the people of Ian’s clan and sends his spinster daughter Myrtle.

Captain Addison Barrington is courting her although she does not love him. She is a tall buxom woman that others joke about and has no hopes of marrying. Addison has been told to marry her because his father wants the land and her wealth. Addison gives her his pistol and warns her the Scots are savages. The reader knows he is bad news but the author layers this villain from mild threat to violent killer.

Thomas and Katie are the only servants in the run down castle and Katie had a vision of a woman named for the symbol of the clan, Myrtle, who would save them or destroy them. Katie puts her in a cellar room that Ian haunts to scare her away. She discovers the servants’ room are better than hers, but she takes it all with humor and a determination to stay to fulfill her father’s wishes. Any woman can identify with Myrtle’s vulnerability about the negative perception of her appearance and her kindness and courage make her a great heroine.

She rides over the property the next day with Gavin MacKenzie and continues in the rain even after someone throws a rock at her and knocks her from the horse. Gavin tells Ian about her courage. His daughter Jean is caught by Myrtle fondling Ian in the wash room. Gavin explains that Ian dubbed Urisk was beaten in the head and is childlike. He wears a mask to hide smallpox scars.

Ian, feeling guilty about putting Myrtle in the cellar, carries her to his room. She finds his diary and two dirty books she reads. She becomes obsessed with his portrait and falls in love with the ghost of Ian. Think “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.” She becomes friends with Urisk and explains the birds and bees to him. This is a funny way to show both characters reveal things they normally wouldn’t in a normal conversation.

Addison visits with his mother and sister, Twilla, who were commoners and still fall back on their Cockney accents. Her mother uses broken French which Ian finds frustrating. He hates Addison pawing Myrtle and dumps gravy on him. During this time someone throws a knife at Myrtle and then an arrow which is stopped by Duncan Knox, a member of a warring clan.

Myrtle and Ian don’t trust each other completely. Ian loses patience with Addison’s mother and sister and when Addison calls Myrtle a whore, she refuses his proposal and they leave. Myrtle receives a letter from the king pardoning Ian and restoring the lands to his heir. When a British soldier is killed, Myrtle rides into the midst of soldiers and clansmen and is nearly killed. Ian, having read the pardon, rides in and protects her as the laird. Gavin says they will marry, making the bond for the land sealed. Myrtle refuse to marry him, humiliated by his role of Urisk but she relents and they are wed.

Troubles follow with Ian spending her money, now his, and she worries that money was his reason for marrying her. Jean also causes problems with spreading lies about her and Ian. Addison also wants to break up the marriage. Secrets are revealed about Jean and Addison in the end.

More book reviews can be found at www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

The School Mistress

The School Mistress by Tess Thompson 2020 Historical Romance

This wholesome romance is a blend of “The Sound of Music” and “Jane Eyre” as Quinn Cooper travels to Emerson Pass, Colorado to take a teaching job in order to send money home to her poor mother and sister. Harley arrives in a snowstorm to take her to Lord Alexander Barnes’ home when two gunshots frighten the horse and she bumps her head.

Alexander has five children and bought all the land in Emerson Pass to create his own town after leaving England to find his own adventure. His wife Ida suffered from bipolar mental illness, which wasn’t known during this time period and died in a snowstorm three years before the story begins.

Quinn loves the five children immediately and is drawn to Alexander even though she thought she was destined to be a spinster. There are other couples in the household also attracted to one another but not brave enough to make a commitment.

The children love Quinn and agree that she should be their mother so there are few obstacles in the way of the romance. Even Jane Eyre and Maria had another woman to compete with for the hero’s affection. Quinn has no obstacles which is an error in any story. The hero/heroine needs conflict and obstacles, especially on the road to a happily ever after. The internal conflicts deal with Ida’s mental illness and death on Alexander and the children but that impact appears minimal. Quinn wrestles with her poverty and role as teacher and whether she is worthy of the rich Alexander, but he has no problem with either.

The external conflicts deal with Alexander trying to figure out who killed his neighbor and best friend who was living with a black woman and thinks bigotry is involved. I thought race would play a bigger role, but it is dismissed as a misunderstanding. Quinn has to deal with the mistreatment of her student, Louisa, who has a drunk and abusive father in the climax, but it is resolved quickly.

The story is lighthearted and warm but touches slightly upon the darker aspects of society. It’s an appropriate book for teens and young adults to read as well as anyone wanting to escape into a lovely little romance.

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Patriot’ Dream

Patriot’s Dream by Barbara Michaels 1976 Berkley Book Time travel mystery

This was written in 1976 and it takes place in historical Williamsburg during that bicentennial year. The story begins with the backstories of four people who traveled to the colonies and survived. A family tree is in the back of the book. Look at it while reading the introduction.

I’ve been to Williamsburg several times and the historical buildings and village is similar to Hale Farm. For anyone who enjoys history, the costumed employees help explain the past in housing, clothing, and customs. Jan Wilde is a cynical young teacher who doesn’t think students want to learn. She’s spending her summer with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Camilla Wilde in Williamsburg. Their home has been purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, but they are allowed to live in it until their deaths. She is courted by Dr. Jordan, Richard Blake, and Allan Miller. The story flips between 1976 and 1775 – 1781.

In Jan’s bedroom is a portrait and she begins having dreams that take her back to 1775 where she sees Charles Wilde, his cousin, Jonathan, another cousin Walforth, Charles intended, Mary Beth who loves Jonathan, and his father’s slave, Leah, who loves Charles. This drama of forbidden love plays out with the war years.

In 1776 Charles joins the Colonial Army against his father’s wishes. Jonathan is a pacifist and abolitionist. Walforth is loyal to the British.

In 1777 Charles returns home and falls in love with Leah. Jonathan is helping slaves escape; some to join the British Army and freedom. Walforth uses the information to blackmail him into spying for the British.

In 1778 Charles’ father realizes he loves Leah and tries to keep them apart. Jonathan prevents him from selling Leah or marrying her off.

In 1780 Jonathan agrees to help Walforth, who has joined Tarleton. Mary Beth proclaims her love for Jonathan, but he loves a woman who died of smallpox. He is giving the Colonial Army information about the British as a double agent.

In 1781 Charles is reported dead. Leah is pregnant with his child, and Jonathan makes plans to help her escape to Philadelphia as his wife. But Walforth arrives to arrest Jonathan.

All this plays out in alternating chapters with Jan’s life in 1976 where she is becoming ill because of her dreams. She talks to Dr. Jordan, a mystic, and Allan. She also researches what was going on in the war after each dream year and fills in the history of the war for the reader.

This is different from time travel stories in that Jan never becomes part of the story in 1776. She only views it. She does break through when Jonathan is dying and is able to reassure him about the future. There is a twist to the story I won’t reveal, but it surprised me and made sense.

The parallel romances through time made this story qualify as a romance, and I won’t reveal who the couples are that fate brings together.

More book reviews are available at www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

Element of Secrecy

Element of Secrecy by Heather Slawecki 2020 Mystery

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This is a rollercoaster ride of a story and like the uphill climb for the first major fall, the reader needs to be patient while the author sets up the events and characters in the beginning of the story.

Once the background is explained, the story takes off with Jennifer O’Rourke going back to her childhood home to find out the truth about the death of her brother, Danny, and her mysterious father, Sean O’Rourke and a cult he became part of before their family was torn apart.

Jennifer doesn’t know who to trust in the story and neither does the reader as we try to decipher the clues along with Jennifer in the first person narrative. She has been in the witness protection program and most of that was filled with lies as well.

She finds out what happened to Danny and befriends an old neighbor, who helps her on more than one occasion. Old friendships are tested and new enemies revealed. The plot is complex and involves two families feuding one another, a cult that judges child killers, and a plan to pass the teachings onto a new generation. It was a lot to digest and for me, was a distraction. I like logic and focus in a story and there were times when this was lacking.

Jennifer begins by uncovering clues that appear safe but then someone tries to scare her off with a dead chicken and other threats. She puts her life on the line more than once as she digs deeper. You have to admire her tenacity as she races to the finish line and the answers to her questions, but I thought she had plenty of information long before the final chapter and wondered why she insisted on a public confrontation.

Some readers won’t want to read through the long setup at the beginning, but not every book needs to start with the action on the first page. It is a gamble for a writer, and the patience of the reader must be rewarded. A lot goes on after Jennifer arrives at her childhood farm and that should reward those waiting for the action to begin. The motives of the villains could have been a little better defined but most people will be satisfied with the ending. There are more books to follow.

More book reviews are available at www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

The Blue Hammer

The Blue Hammer by Ross MacDonald 1976 Warner Books Mystery

This book was written 22 years later than the other book starring Lew Archer. In this one he doesn’t get hit in the face, clobbered over the head, or knocked unconscious once. I guess he got smarter or realized that all those beatings would make him brain dead if he maintained that pace.

This story is about a stolen painting owned by Jack and Ruth Biemeyers who hire Lew to recover it. He finds out that their daughter, Doris, gave the painting to her boyfriend, Fred Johnson, to authenticate. But before he can, it’s stolen from him.

The painting is supposed to have been created by Richard Chantry, who disappeared 25 years ago and whose wife, Francine, is neighbors with the Biemeyers. He left to discover his art and has become a legend in the town. The painting was recent and a memory painting of his favorite model and mistress.

Lew visits Fred who lives with his parents, Jim, a drunk and Sarah, an RN. They have a locked attic. This was a heavy-handed clue that Lew doesn’t investigate until the end of the book.

Two more men are killed and Lew joins forces with a reporter, Betty Jo, in more than one way. It was nice that he finally had a relationship after 25 years, but she’s young and ambitious. I wouldn’t count on her being in his life for long.

The story has a lot of twists with half-brothers, a 30-year-old murder, a body buried in the greenhouse, a missing husband, and a lot of cheating on spouses. Two more people are killed before Lew puts the pieces together. I’m sorry to say I figured out the plot long before he did. There was one additional surprise, but it’s ramifications of incest was never explored.

MacDonald followed a similar pattern of introducing the problem and following the leads wherever they led. He interrogates witnesses and then interviews them again in this book to uncover the answers. Some of the characters are better drawn than others, and there are so many, keep a list.

More book reviews are available at www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com

One Little Mistake

One Little Mistake by Casey Hill 2014 Mystery

This is a modern mystery with the author developing the characters thoroughly with the solving of two criminal cases moving along in the background. I prefer this method to the old tradition of the crime being the most important aspect of the story and the detective resembling a stereotype instead of a real person.

There are previous books in this series, but I didn’t feel like I needed to read them first, although this one made me want to go back and find out more about the lead character, Reilly Steel, who works in forensics in Dublin, Ireland, although she grew up in California.

Reilly was poisoned in her last case and spent a few weeks in Florida where she had a wild fling with her mentor’s son, Todd Forrest. In Dublin, her relationship with her partner, Chris Delaney, is heating up into more than a professional relationship, but she keeps backing away. We meet her other detective, Pete Kennedy, and forensic techs, Lucy and Gary. Lucy’s sister disappeared 18 years ago and she asks Reilly to open the cold case for her. This is one investigation in the story line. The other is about a chef who poisons career women too busy to have children and a family.

The author gives us short insights into the killer’s mind which explains the motive for his killing and hints to his identity. I liked this method, and there is plenty of background to satisfy the reader about why the killer is risking all.

Like any mystery story, the detectives do a lot of interviewing but the pace is fast and eliminates suspects, although the police arrest the wrong man more than once. The tension mounts up at the end as the killer picks the victim he’s been practicing for and sets up the murder scene.

The author wraps up the two crime stories and leaves the reader with a few questions about Reilly to be answered in the next book. We hope.

Casey Hill knows how to write a mystery story with more than one interesting crime, plenty of suspects, personal problems among her detectives, and a criminal that is dangerously evil and smart enough to evade capture. The bad guy is a challenge to Reilly and tests her skills as she solves the crime. For any writer, this is a necessary jumbling act in a mystery story and hard to achieve. Hill does it.

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Find a Victim

Find a Victim by Ross MacDonald 1954 Warner Books Mystery

This is a Lew Archer Novel. Lew is the classic private detective who looks for trouble. I lost count of how many times Lew had his face battered in this story. For $700 he was earning every bruise.

It’s written in first person so Lew has to talk to a lot of people as he tries to uncover the crime. He is drawn in by an act of kindness. He sees a man on the side of the road. He’s been shot. He takes him to the nearest building, a motel owned by a tough guy named Kerrigan. He knows the man, Tony, who dies in the hospital. He was driving a shipment of whiskey worth $7,000. The semi is missing. Kerrigan’s wife, Kate, wants him to find out what happened to their desk clerk, Anne. She thinks Kerrigan was going to run off with her.

Lew follows one lead to the next and the reader needs to make a list to keep the characters straight because the plot has plenty of twist and turns. Lew makes a few mistakes, too. Anne’s sister, Hilda, is married to Sheriff Brand Church. Sometimes Lew likes him and other times he thinks Church is dirty.

The truck full of whiskey was owned by Hilda and Anne’s father. He hires Lew to find it. He doesn’t know Anne is missing. He corrupted her. That’s code for incest, but the men are allowed their vices in this period and dark style. The women get punched, raped, and abandoned. It’s the 50s. The women aren’t innocent. They blackmail, sleep around, and know how to shoot a gun.

Kerrigan has a new girlfriend, Jo, who knew Tony and has a boyfriend on the side named Bozey. They all figure into a plot involving stolen money, hijacked whiskey, and a missing woman.

MacDonald uses setting to describe the darkness and bleakness of life where everyone is sleeping with someone else’s wife and looking to make a quick buck. It’s a seedy town but Lew’s motto is “he doesn’t want jerks and hustlers to take over.” He wants to put away the bad guy. He finds plenty in Las Cruces.

More book reviews are available at www.authorfreeman.wordpress.com