IQ/Joe Ide/321 pgs.

This is one of the most intriguing "detective" debuts I have read in a long time. Isaiah Quintabe, a.k.a. IQ, is a high school drop out of extremely high intelligence, living in East Long Beach, California. In the style of Sherlock Holmes, IQ uses his skills to solve mysteries and crimes that the police can't solve, or don't want to deal with. His form of payment ranges from money to animals--whatever the "client" can pay. The main story involves the murder attempt of a rapper, Black the Knife--real name, Calvin Wright. The story line goes between solving the mystery, and the background on how IQ became a "detective." It's a fast, interesting read; I hope this is the start of a new series. Highly recommended!

First Star I See Tonight/Susan Elizabeth Phillips/370 pgs.

Piper Dove is the one person owner of a detective agency. One of her clients (and there aren't many) hires her to find out information on former Chicago Stars' quarterback, Cooper Graham. He realizes Piper is following him, and his confrontation with Piper is one of the reasons I really like this author! The dialogue in the book is funny, at times touching, and purely enjoyable. Eventually, Cooper hires Piper to do some investigative work for him, and sparks begin to fly. It's not your typical romance in that the author provides more depth to her characters then do other romance writers. There is also a mystery woven into the story line which enhances the novel. Highly recommended. Be warned, though, that there are a few graphic sex scenes.

Apprentice in Death/J.D. Robb/375 pgs.

It begins with what appears to be a random sniper shooting at an ice skating rink; the year is 2061, and this is the latest entry in J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas series. Lt. Dallas is called in to head up the investigation, and to ultimately put a stop to anymore killings. Early on in the investigation, it becomes apparent that the police might be looking for two killers instead of one. Once the identities of the suspects are known, it's a battle against time in order to stop more murders. This is one of Robb's best efforts, and furthers the reader's enjoyment of the series. Highly recommended!

Scarecrow / Michael Connelly 432 p.

Jack McElvoy (The Poet) has just been given his pink slip from the the LA Times.  He decides to go out in a burst of glory by writing about a teenager's drop into crime from growing up in poverty.  When he investigates the murder he finds that the teenager's confession is bogus.  When he links the LA murder to another, he is again linked with Rachel Walling, FBI agent.  Together they hunt for a serial killer as manipulative, smart, devious, and cunning as the Poet.  Before Jack even realizes just what he is up against, the Scarecrow strikes.  Jack's identity is stolen.  He finds himself in an isolated area without bank accounts, credit cards, and cell phones. The Scarecrow has been flying so low below police radar that no one has a clue about him.  Connelly skillfully interweaves the death of the newspapers with the romance of McElvoy and Walling and the investigation.  The Scarecrow's side is interspersed into the story, too.  Even without Harry Bosch, this is one of Connelly's best.
Scarecrow / Michael Connelly 432 p.

Book Stops Here : a mobile library mystery 307 p.

Mobile librarian, Israel Armstrong, is going home to London in a 30 year old about-to-be-retired bookmobile to attend the Mobile Meet, an annual library convention.  He and fellow librarian, Ted Carson, barely get to meet Israel's family, have dinner, and have some good coffee when the bookmobile is stolen.  The two head after the missing vehicle and encountering a variety of characters along the way.

Book Stops Here : a mobile library mystery 307 p.

Silver Swan / Benjamin Black 288 p.

The events of Christine Falls are two years in the past.  Quirke has moved on.  His daughter sees him for lunch on Tuesdays where they share a bottle of wine carefully portioned over the course of the meal as Quirke no longer the heavy drinker.  His curiosity draws him in when a old acquaintance, Billy Hunt, contacts him about his young wife's apparent suicide.  Things are revealed about Diedre that perhaps would be better off left uncovered and lead to danger to the ones he loves.  Her story along with the silver-tongued con man Leslie White are told in episodes as the characters become intertwined with Quirke and his family.  Quirke's family becomes an integral part of the story in the slow paced, mystery set in post-war Dublin.

Silver Swan / Benjamin Black 288 p.   Quirke mysteries no. 2            

Overlook / Michael Connelly 224 p.

Newly recruited from cold cases to LAPD's Homicide Special Squad, Harry Bosch with his new partner draws a murder case that looks like an execution-style shooting, Dr. Stanley Kent has two bullet holes in the back of his head.  Dr. Kent does not seem to have ties to gangsters.  He was a medical physicist with access to radioactive materials used to treat cancer patients all across Los Angeles.  What begins as homicide investigation turns into a potential terrorist attack.  In come the FBI including Bosch's former lover Rachel Walling.  Bosch follows his leads relentlessly in this fast paced murder mystery.  He irritates LAPD brass along the way.  And, is irritated by the FBI shutting him out of his own murder investigation.

For those readers who enjoy the Bosch fast-paced mysteries, they may enjoy the Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme books.

Overlook / Michael Connelly 224 p.

Christine Falls / Benjamin Black 352 p.

Dublin pathologist, Garret Quirke, returns to the morgue late at night after an office party to encounter his brother-in-law obstetrician physician in his office writing up a report about his patient who died of a pulmonary embolism after delivery.  Too many small things about this patient, Christine Falls, irrevocably triggers Quirke's interest.  The more he learns, the more he wants to find out more and the more he learns the broader the conspiracy that seems to involve babies that vanish.   Black develops complex family relationships that are revealed as he delves deeper.  Falls caretaker during her pregnancy is murder and Quirke is brutally attacked.  And still he keeps looking for answers in this first of the Quirke mysteries.

Christine Falls / Benjamin Black 352 p.

Poet / Michael Connelly 434 p.

Jack McEvoy, crime reporter for the "Denver Post", just cannot believe that his twin brother, head homicide detective for the Denver PD, "ate" his gun while depressed over a horrific murder investigation that had stopped for lack of leads. His research into police suicides hits gold and gives the cops good leads as he finds the path of a serial killer. His inside knowledge gets him a berth with the FBI unit that is headed up by Bob Backus, son of the legendary FBI man who wrote the book on murder investigations. The Poet as he is dubbed leaves pithy Edgar Allen Poe as suicide notes. Jack falls for FBI team member Rachel Walling. Connelly intricately moves the plot along all the while concealing expertly the final twist.

Continued by The Narrows.
Poet / Michael Connelly 434 p.

Clandestine / James Ellroy 175 p.

Fred Underhill is a young LAPD cop in the early 1950's.  He aspires to make detective fast, faster than anyone else.  When his one-night stand ends up a murder victim,  he uses his "inside" knowledge she shared with him to get him onto the big guys murder investigation.  There he participates in the sweating out of a confession that crosses into brutality.  When he tries to take the credit, it blows up in his face and he is kicked out of the force.  He runs into another murder that takes him back to the original case.  He goes out on his own to investigate and finds a very grim conclusion.  The characters are rather unsavory and rather uninteresting in this hardboiled fiction showing the seamier side of both the police and the criminals.

Clandestine / James Ellroy 175 p.

Reversible errors / Scott Turow 225 p.

Arthur Raven draws a murder case where his client is on death row and has gotten the judicial system to reopen his case.  Told with flashbacks, there is much more to this than just a convicted murdered working the system.  With every rock Arthur turns over, more puzzles are discovered.  The original prosecuting attorney with an eye to making chief and the LAPD case detective fight to keep the conviction standing.  The judge in the case is called to testify and brings baggage of her own (disbarred and convected of a felony).  A dying con now admits he committed the murders.  Many twists keep the suspense rolling.


6th in the Kindle County series.

Reversible errors / Scott Turow 225 p.

I Let You Go/ Clare Mackintosh/ 369 pages

I Let You Go written by Clare Mackintosh introduces us to Jacob and his mother.  When Jacob is killed by a hit and run driver, his mother abandons her life.  Jenna flees leaving behind all but a small bag of her possessions.  At the same time, Bristol DI Stephens and his assistant Kate try to solve the hit and run.  In her new home, Jenna encounters Bethan and Patrick.  With their help she slowly begins to put her life back in order.  Just as things come together, Stephens and Kate solve the crime.  Now Jenna must once again deal with Jacob's death.  This book will appeal to the reader who enjoyed Gone Girl and the Girl on the Train in that it contains both physical and mental components.

Narrows / Michael Connelly 352 p.

Warning: Read this after reading the Poet.  Contains spoiler.

In this 10th Harry Bosch police procedural, Terry McCaleb's widow calls Harry in to investigate what she believes is his murder.  Strands from an earlier mystery, The Poet, are interwoven when FBI agent Rachel Walling, a protege of The Poet as was Terry McCaleb, is called back to investigate a serial murderer who left his calling card directed at her.  So begins a race to find The Poet before he strikes again.  As they join forces, it is clear that The Poet has had time to use all his skills to devise an intricate murder plan.

Narrows / Michael Connelly 352 p.

Closers / Michael Connelly 416 p.

Harry Bosch is back on the LAPD after a 2 year retirement working with his former partner Kiz Rider.  There has been a shake up at the top and there is a new police chief who is re-hiring former detectives.  Bosch and Rider are working on the cold case murder of a 16 year old daughter of a white mother and a black father.  There is DNA link to a lowlife and White Supremacists.  The investigation is in the details and that is what Bosch is best at.  A good police procedural that shows Connelly at the top of his form.

Closers / Michael Connelly 416 p.

Fortune Favors the Wicked / Theresa Romain 314 p.

When Royal Navy Lieutenant Benedict Frost suffers an career ending injury, he finds himself without meaningful work and bored.  When he learns of the heist of gold coins from the Royal Mint, he decides to follow the clues.  At the same time courtesan Charlotte Perry is very interested in getting the reward for finding the coins.  This means a new life for her.  Of course, circumstances bring them together resulting in allies in this Regency romantic mystery.

Some of the characters story is continued in Passion Favors the Bold.

Fortune Favors the Wicked / Theresa Romain 314 p.

House of Silk / Anthony Horowitz 294 p.

Anthony Horowitz captures the essence of the Sherlock Holmes genre.  Dr. Watson is back with Sherlock Holmes at 221 B Baker Street while Mary Watson is off to care for an ailing child.  A fine arts dealer, Edmund Carstairs, comes to Holmes for help-- a strange man with a flat hat is stalking him very publicly.  Carstairs relates that man is a ring leader for a Boston crime gang who's ire he provoked when he attempted to get the culprits who stole his four valuable landscape paintings.  The murder investigation of the Boston criminal drags the pair deeper into intrigue.

House of Silk / Anthony Horowitz 294 p.

Lost Light / Michael Connelly 400 p.

A newly retired Harry Bosch needs little prompting from a former colleague to investigate a cold case that haunts him, the murder of  Angella Benton, a young production assistant-- A murder that is linked to a $2 million heist from the film company where she worked.  Lawton Cross shares that an FBI agent informed his late partner that a bill from the heist turned up, the agent who goes missing shortly after making the call.  Connelly masterly advances the complex plot with its multiple twists and turns to an action packed ending.

Lost Light / Michael Connelly 400 p.

City of Bones / Michael Connelly 393 p.

Harry Bosch, LAPD homicide detective, investigates a 20 year old murder uncovered when a dog brings home a bone.  The case brings back memories of his childhood as an orphan.  Love blossoms when he connects with a young beautiful rookie.  Then the plot twists with a sudden and sharp turn that shakes him up.  Harry's "the devil is in the detail's" investigative style blows the sure-fire case out of the water, leaving he and his partner back at square one.  And he wondering about his "mission".  A gritty police procedural.

City of Bones / Michael Connelly 393 p.

The Considerate Killer/Lene Kaaberbol & Agnette Friis/312 pgs.

This is the fourth installment in the Nina Borg series, and according to Amazon, the final book; I hope Amazon is wrong! Nina Borg is a Danish nurse, who finds herself the victim of a crime--she is bludgeoned from behind, and would have been left for dead, if her attacker hadn't been interrupted by a passerby. It turns out that the attack isn't random, and Nina can't figure out why someone would want her dead. The story flips back and forth between events that occurred in the Philippines years ago, and the present day novel setting. Insight is given into Nina's personality, and her struggles as a divorced mother. It's an intriguing story which comes together nicely at the end. Highly recommended as are the other three books in the series: The Boy in the Suitcase; Invisible Murder; and Death of a Nightingale.

Concrete Blonde / Michael Connelly 382 p.

Concrete Blonde / Michael Connelly 382 p.

In this 3rd in the Harry Bosch mysteries has Harry on trial for killing the wrong man when he shot the Dollmaker, a serial murderer, four years earlier.   When another woman is found encased in concrete, the lawyer for the dead man's widow, ruthlessly uses the new case to give another point to her case that Harry shot the wrong man, an innocent man.  It is up to Harry to solve this new case and solve it fast.