Diane Rapp's Blog: She's a Mystery and Science Fiction Writer! - Posts Tagged "female-sleuth"

Black Water by Rosemary McCracken

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Danger threatens and dark water awaits

The second book in the Pat Tierney Mystery series is a real nail biter. When Pat's daughter Tracy first introduced her new "partner," Pat freaked out. Now she faces a new problem. Her daughter's lover, Jaimie Collins, is missing and the police think she murdered a man. Tracy begs her to find Jamie, but Pat must unravel the murder to accomplish the task. Can she restore her relationship with Tracy?

Pat uses the opening of a branch of her investment firm in the small Canadian community of Braeloch as an excuse to snoop around the village. She moves her kids and her dog into a remote house owned by her company and meets the investment counselors she will be helping. With a town filled with suspects and an investment firm to launch, Pat might have bitten off too much. Danger lurks in the shadows, a biker gang, shotgun wielding drug growers, and someone tampering with her car. The excitement ramps up as Pat races through the woods and over thin ice on a snowmobile. She jeopardizes her job and her family but she must solve the crime. It might mean life or death.

Although this book is the second in the series, it is also a stand alone novel with enough information about recurring characters to satisfy a new reader. I recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys mysteries and adventure.




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Alternate Currents by Arleen Alleman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Universal themes that strike a chord.

Arleen Alleman once again demonstrates her writing talent in a gripping novel filled with suspense and pathos. When spiteful and malicious motives spur a kidnapping, events rapidly spiral out of control. Darcy learns that her friend, Charlie, is kidnapped. Her natural instinct is to go help Charlie's domestic partner, Don, and their adopted 7-year old daughter, Penelope.

The idea doesn't sit well with Darcy's fiancé, Mick. Based on past experience, he knows Darcy's habit of "helping" often places her in mortal danger. He's worried and rightly so. To complicate matters, Darcy and Nick are supposed to be planning a wedding of their own, but the stress of this situation could derail the nuptials.

Don Freeburg, a freelance cartoonist, and Charlie Scott, a commercial realtor, live in an upscale Seattle neighborhood. Unfortunately their domestic partnership recently came under the scrutiny of a religious zealot with fanatical followers, a group of people who are eager to remove Penelope from their home. To complicate matters, Penelope's birth mother threatens to legally reverse the adoption. She claims she has a legal right to take custody of her daughter. Although Penelope never met her birth mother, could a judge rip the family apart due to a legal technicality?

Ignoring her own personal problems, Darcy travels to Seattle to help and support her friends. As the police investigation into the kidnapping flounders, bodies start turning up. Darcy can't keep her promise to Mick and starts investigating on her own. It becomes clear that Penelope might have been the original target of the kidnapping, and Darcy fears for the girl's safety.

Darcy gallantly risks her own life to protect her friends and solve the crime. There are so many twists and turns in the complicated plot that readers are taken on a wild ride. Greed, desire, guilt, and fanaticism embolden several treacherous villains, who lurk in the shadows waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Each culprit has a motive to kill but which one has gone on a killing spree? Can Darcy survive against the menacing culprits who stalk her friends? Will her own relationship with Mick crumble under the strain of a tempestuous separation? Will the wedding that Mick and Darcy planned ever take place? As Darcy learns more about her own character, she considers a new occupation, one that might place her in constant jeopardy. Will Mick support Darcy’s new career choice?

Fans of the Darcy Farthing novels are sure to enjoy this new chapter in her saga. Darcy has become a friend that we enjoy welcoming into our home. We worry about her almost as much as Mick, but we eagerly wait for each new story to be revealed.




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Bluewater Voodoo by C.L.R. Dougherty

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Zombies? Voodoo? It’s just a fantastic adventure!

I admit that I enjoy reading Dougherty’s books, and I was not disappointed by the third book in the Bluewater mystery series. He brings back interesting characters like Dani and Liz, who operate a charter business on their fancy sailboat. Dani is still a little spit-fire, ready to punch out their current customer when he leers at her, much to our reading pleasure.

The girls were hired by a professor and his slinky assistant to sail them through the islands. Sounds like an easy job until two Venezuelan soldiers board the sailboat intent on kidnapping the professor. Dani and Liz learn that the professor is working for a reality TV show producer, trying to find real zombies. He discovered the location of a Voodoo Bokor who created a real-life zombie. They run afoul of a Venezuelan hit man. Martinez is under direct orders from Chavez to create zombies and launch a plan to disrupt the next American election.

In this story readers learn about the Voodoo religion and how Haitians are mistreated by island governments. The formula to make a real zombie is a closely-guarded secret and the mild-mannered Voodoo Bokor is reluctant to exploit the zombie in his care. Dani learns that one of her relatives is a high priestess of the religion, and enlists her help for the professor.

In between kidnappings, bombings, and high speed chases, the criminals prove that a plan is only as good as the lowest man involved in the scheme. Angry that the thugs tried to sink her ship, Dani calls upon her own experts to straighten out the mess. They have no problems with competence!

Dougherty once again leads his readers on a roller coaster ride through the Caribbean. During the adventure questions from the first two books are answered. If you haven’t read the whole series, there’s enough back story in this book to make it enjoyable on its own, but you might just get hooked on the series!




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