ENEMY AT THE GATE (Mitch Rapp Book #20) by Kyle Mills is once again my “favorite” book in this series! Action-packed and fast-paced as the previous books in the series, this new book also includes worldwide political intrigue played by billionaires and autocrats as intricate as a chess game with the common man as their pawns. If for some reason you have not read this series yet, this book is easily read as a standalone and a great place to jump in.
Mitch Rapp is trying to find a new normal and balance in his life. He is working on recovering from the damage done to his body and rehabbing and strengthening with long-distance cycling. He is also finding he is more at home and happier with Claudia and Anna in South Africa on their vineyard than in their home in the United States.
As he decides if he is out of the game for good, Irene Kennedy pulls him back in with a meeting between the new President, Anthony Cook and the world’s first trillionaire, Nicholas Ward when Ward’s research compound in Uganda is attacked and destroyed and the fate of his most valued scientists in unknown. Mitch has his reservations about the new administration, but Nicholas Ward hires Scott Coleman and his team and with Mitch along at point they enter the Ugandan jungle for a rescue op.
This is just the beginning of an intricately plotted thriller that pits Mitch against a terrorist with a God complex and an army of drug fueled followers in the Ugandan jungle, a CIA mole at the highest level and a new President and First Lady with dreams of an autocratic dynasty.
I am a Mitch Rapp Ambassador and love the whole series, but this book was a tour de force by Kyle Mills. He is able to emotionally mature Mitch Rapp without changing him so much that his fans would protest. The plot of this thriller not only keeps you turning the pages, but also makes you think and question the world order today of power and money, morally, politically, and scientifically. There are enough open-ended questions and powerful and dangerous people left for Mitch to be busy for quit a few more books and nothing could make me happier.
I highly recommend this new Mitch Rapp thriller!
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About the Author
Kyle Mills is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty books, including the latest in Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series, Total Power.
Growing up in Oregon, Washington, DC, and London as a the son of an FBI agent, Kyle absorbed an enormous amount about the intelligence community, giving his novels their unique authenticity. He and his wife live in Wyoming where they spend their off hours mountain biking and backcountry skiing.
Sometimes, the most perfect families are hiding the most terrible secrets. How well do you know the people next door…?
Everybody wants to live on Hogarth Street, the pretty, tree-lined avenue with its white houses. The new family, The Wests, are a perfect fit. Katherine and Josh seem so in love and their gorgeous five-year-old twins race screeching around their beautiful emerald-green lawn.
But soon people start to notice: why don’t they join backyard barbecues? Why do they brush away offers to babysit? Why, when you knock at the door, do they shut you out, rather than inviting you in?
Every family has secrets, and on the hottest day of the year, the truth is about to come out. As a tragedy unfolds behind closed doors, the dawn chorus is split by the wail of sirens. And one by one the families who tried so hard to welcome the Wests begin to realize: Hogarth Street will never be the same again.
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Elise’s Thoughts
The Family Across The Street is Nicole Trope’s latest novel. Her American debut was in June of this year with the outstanding book, The Boy In The Photo. With all her books, readers get a vivid plot that grips them and grabs their full attention. The stories usually delve into everything from emotional abuse, child abuse (both psychological and sexual), and domestic violence.
The Boy In the Photo was first published by Grand Central Publishing this June. It takes readers on an emotional roller coaster involving love, hurt, heartbreak, and joy. The story is told in two parts: six years ago, and six years later. Megan Kade divorced her abusive husband, Greg Stanthorpe. Intending to get Megan back or to hurt her he kidnaps their son and goes off the grid. Six years later the boy, Daniel, appears at a New South Wales police station, reporting that his dad died in a fire. Daniel is distant, volatile, and in some ways resistant to Megan. He believes all the horror stories told to him by his father. The flashbacks of how both Megan and Daniel feel in the six-year gap emphasizes their grief and apprehension.
The Family Across The Street, her latest book, can be purchased as either an e-book or a paperback. The plot begins with Kathleen and her five-year-old twins, George and Sophie, being terrorized by someone in their house. Logan, a delivery driver, gets a strange feeling that something is wrong after he tries to deliver a package that requires a signature, and the homeowner tells him she can’t open the door. He is not alone; Gladys, the caring across the street neighbor, also suspects something is wrong. Both grapple with deciding if they should intervene. Would they be interfering and falsely calling the police or should they be disinterested and mind their own business. This is a subject explored throughout the plot along with how Kathleen plans to protect her children.
All her books are riveting reads with another two books that readers might want to read first, The Nowhere Girl and The Life She Left Behind.
The Nowhere Girl has Alice married to a wonderful man, Jack, and raising three wonderful children. But as with many of Trope’s books this character has a secret. She has told Jack that she ran away from home when she was younger, but she didn’t tell him the whole story. Her husband doesn’t know about the guilt she bears about her little sister she failed to save. Trying to come to grips with her emotions, she starts a blog for those abused. One of the women she is in contact with wants to meet her. But she wants her past to stay in her past, until she realizes that her abusive father is watching her and waiting to attack. The story goes back and forth explaining Alice’s childhood and how she plans on protecting her family.
The Life She Left Behind also has a wife not able to confide in her husband about her past. Twenty-eight years later the secret does not stay buried. Rachel and her husband Ben, along with their young daughter Beth, have just moved into their very first house in a new housing complex. But what should be a happy and joyous moment is shattered when someone breaks into their new home leaving Rachel with memories of a childhood she wishes to forget. Someone is leaving her childhood Troll dolls in places for her child to find. It seems her mother and she escaped the domestic violence inflicted by the husband/father. But has he returned?
As with all her books, Trope skillfully keeps readers guessing, always having a twist at the end of the story. She has the reader take a journey with the characters as they try to protect themselves and their family. She also has the reader ponder a question about what would they do: would they call the police, would they leave and start a new life, or would they stay? Because of the abuse scenes, readers will be on the edge of their seats hoping that the heroine can overcome the evil in her life.
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Elise’s Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How would you describe your books?
Nicole Trope: There is a family where, in a certain moment, something changes in their life, and how they react. Usually there are troubling characters, where I hope to redeem them in some way. I want readers to understand why they behaved the way they did. Many of the books deal with abuse and families in crisis.
EC: How did you get the idea for your last book, The Family Across The Street?”
NT: Looking at Facebook, I saw a post by an American photographer who took pictures of gang members’ and their tattoos. One guy had a very emotional reaction after seeing his picture where the tattoos were photoshopped out. He felt without them he looked like an average person. I thought about someone who might not have had a good start and wanted to change their life. Yet, they are marked forever. In this book, Logan, the delivery driver was like that and after he entered my head along came the story.
EC: In most of your books the abusers have a certain persona?
NT: They are dominant, distrustful, angry, violent, and like to inflict fear. Many times, they like to be in control because they cannot control their own rage, anger, and fear. There is an underlying reason for their emotions.
EC: There are also mothers who want to stay close to their children?
NT: In this book, The Family Across The Street, the heroine Katherine West has a wonderful new start. Yet, she does not want to be cut out of her older child’s life. She is very much a mother who is trying to do her best.
EC: Gladys, is the neighbor across the street?
NT: She is an elderly woman who is from a different generation when all the neighbors knew each other. She is struggling because her best friend, her husband, is dying. She must contemplate a future without him in her life. She never had children, so she is lonely.
EC: This book shows how many people feel about getting involved?
NT: This is something that fascinates me. When to call the police? Does someone call if they hear a child crying or do they go over to their neighbor’s house to make sure everything is OK? I understand the reader wants someone to call the police because they know more than the neighbors. I made sure the event takes place only over one day because I want the neighbors and Logan to consider what to do. People are afraid to put forward the wrong foot yet, the consequences could be devastating if wrong. The Family Across The Street had people afraid of overreacting, but worried their neighbors are being harmed. It is very difficult to know what to do.
EC: Did the five-year-old George steal the show in your latest book?
NT: He is very protective, caring, and will grow up into a lovely man. I loved him. He is a brave little soldier.
EC: What about your next book?
NT: It comes out October of this year, titled, The Mother’s Fault. It is in the same vein as the last book.
THANK YOU!!
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Agent Pendergast faces his most unexpected challenge yet when bloodless bodies begin to appear in Savannah, GA, in this installment of a #1 New York Times bestselling series.
A fabulous heist: On the evening of November 24, 1971, D. B. Cooper hijacked Flight 305—Portland to Seattle—with a fake bomb, collected a ransom of $200,000, and then parachuted from the rear of the plane, disappearing into the night…and into history.
A brutal crime steeped in legend and malevolence: Fifty years later, Agent Pendergast takes on a bizarre and gruesome case: in the ghost-haunted city of Savannah, Georgia, bodies are found with no blood left in their veins—sowing panic and reviving whispered tales of the infamous Savannah Vampire.
A case like no other: As the mystery rises along with the body count, Pendergast and his partner, Agent Coldmoon, race to understand how—or if—these murders are connected to the only unsolved skyjacking in American history. Together, they uncover not just the answer…but an unearthly evil beyond all imagining.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Bloodless by Doug Preston and Lincoln Child intertwines different genres: historical, mystery, and science fiction. It delves into an unsolved heist, a brutal crime, and a case involving secrets, lies, and darkness.
The story begins with a true hijacking and theft. In 1971, D. B. Cooper took control of a passenger airliner, allowed them to deplane, and after getting a ransom payment parachuted into the dark Pacific Northwest night, never to be seen or heard of again. Now fifty years later, Agent Pendergast takes on a bizarre and gruesome case in the ghost-haunted city of Savannah, Georgia. Pendergast, his partner, Coldmoon, and his ward Constance, are diverted from traveling to their home by their boss. A strange murder has occurred where a body has been found completely drained of blood. The killer has been dubbed the “Infamous Savannah Vampire.” The heroes must also deal with a team filming a documentary about the haunted places of historic Savannah, an author on a mission to debunk all that, and a narcissistic Senator running for reelection, demanding quick answers about the murders as the body count mounts. At the heart of the mystery is a device that Pendergast claims is the answer to whoever or whatever is plaguing Savannah.
Although Pendergast is front and center, Coldmoon takes a back seat to Constance. The only clue they have is that the manager of the historic hotel, The Chandler House, where they are staying, is the first victim. Constance assists by befriending the reclusive hotel owner, Miss Felicity Winthrop Frost, rumored to have prolonged her life by drinking human blood and seen arguing with her manager. As Constance gains the elderly woman’s confidence, she is shocked by what she finds out, linking everything back to the kidnapping.
A bonus is the vivid description of Savannah. The setting is quaint and atmospheric, dripping with Spanish moss and eerie, foggy mists.
Blending reality with fantasy, readers at time must suspend their beliefs and let their imagination take over. The plot was engaging with engrossing characters. Some of the plotline is left unfinished and will be wrapped up in the next two books of the series.
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Elise’s Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Doug Preston: I have always been fascinated with the D. B. Cooper hijacking case. It is one of the longest cases in the files of the FBI that has not been solved. I asked Lincoln if we could base a novel around it that would basically solve the case. He came up with all these great ideas.
EC: Why D.B. Cooper?
DP: It is the 50th anniversary since the hijacking, which took place the day before Thanksgiving. Lincoln and I like to weave together true and weird stories. We will try to answer did he survive and other questions?
EC: Why the Savannah Georgia setting?
DP: Some of it is still in the 19th Century. It is a unique city, especially the historical part. It has rumors of being a haunted, spooky city, gothic in flavor. It has tremendous atmosphere with the live oak trees, cobblestone streets, and huge mansions. The Bonaventure Cemetery with its old tombs was important to the story, especially because it is so huge. Savannah is a character in the novel.
Lincoln Child: We both love this city. We ended our last book with the agent’s plane being diverted here after leaving Florida. For Coldmoon, this city is foreign to everything he knew about. It has voodoo undertones, and this is no place like it on the Southern coast of America.
EC: What about Constance?
LC: I have a crush on her and am not afraid to admit it. We are not going to abandon her in that very strange unfamiliar place we left her. This book is the first in what we anticipate being a trilogy. Pendergast must deal with his own conscience and relationship with her, something we have danced around in the past few books.
EC: How about the relationship?
LC: Dysfunctional. Unusual. She can be violent when protecting him and has feelings for him. He is unsure about his feelings regarding her. There is tension between the two of them. She is not the young woman she seems to be. We hope to resolve her past life and bring closure.
EC: There is a dual universe. Were you thinking about Einstein’s Theory of Relativity?
DP: We did use an Einstein theory, but not this one. He was the founder of Quantum Mechanics. It is a legitimate theory. The physical and cosmological underlying properties of nature. It is believed by Physicists that it happens in different universes.
EC: Why the Savannah Vampire?
LC: Our first book Relic was different than the other books. In that one we toyed with having a supernatural being. After that we were branded as techno thriller writers with a supernatural edge. But we are very careful to always begin the books with science and to have a potential scientific explanation to the ending. We trend middle ground like Michael Crichton.
EC: It has a theme of greed?
DP: Yes, on many levels, both money and power. The Senator in the story who is up for re-election has greed of power. We had a wonderful time writing his demise. The others who died had a greed of money.
EC: Your next book?
DP: Constance’s story will start to get resolved with a lot of action. We have no title or publication date but probably in the summer of 2022. Coldmoon will be in book two to a certain extent. We are not sure about book three. In both books Pendergast will be front and center where readers can see his arrogance, idiosyncrasies, and impatience with those of lesser intelligence.
THANK YOU!!
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today is my turn on the Books n All Promotions Blog Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE SUSPECTS (Detective Helen Carter Book #3) by Jodie Lawrance.
Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Blurb
SHE’S OUT OF UNIFORM BUT SHE’S STILL IN THE LINE OF FIRE.
Discover a thrilling new Scottish crime series starring Detective Helen Carter.
Detective Helen Carter needs a break. Instead, she’s going head-to-head with notorious cop killer Jimmy Osbourne.
Eight years ago, he pulled off the perfect heist and fled to Spain, leaving behind a trail of carnage. But not a shred of evidence to implicate him.
Now he’s back in Edinburgh. But why? Helen has her suspicions.
Within days, a mystery jewel thief surfaces on CCTV. A shooter hits a seedy back-alley.
The suspects are piling up, but Helen knows Jimmy is behind them. All her instincts tell her he’s guilty. She’s watching him. But he has eyes on her too . . .
Can she take him down before he gets to her?
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MEET THE DETECTIVE
Detective Sergeant Helen Carter is used to getting a rough time of it at work. As one of the few women officers around, she has heard it all before: she’s only there as a box-ticking exercise, or she only got the job because of her father, who was a detective inspector. But she can handle it. She knows she can hold her own against any man on the force. The only thing she can’t handle, however, are the constant fights with her fiancé, Ted.
THE SETTING
Edinburgh CID in the 1970s is on the third-floor of the ugly, modern concrete lump that is the police station. On a sunny day, you can look right out to Arthur’s Seat. And on any day, you can see spotty-faced, bored teenagers coming and going from the local high school across the road. With its historic cobbled streets and fair share of deprivation, Edinburgh police are up against every type of criminal imaginable.
THE SUSPECTS (Detective Helen Carter Book #3) by Jodie Lawrance is the third Scottish police procedural crime story featuring female detective, Helen Carter in the mid 1970’s. While all the books in this series can be read as standalone crime investigations, the characters continue to be more fully fleshed and interconnected as the series progresses.
Eight years ago, Jimmy Osbourne pulled off a heist that would have been perfect except during the escape he killed a police officer and seriously injured the officer’s partner who is out for justice. Jimmy escaped to Spain leaving no evidence behind.
Now Jimmy is back in Edinburgh and Helen Carter is assigned the case. Helen is working to discover Jimmy’s reason for returning as well as finding any evidence to finally convict him.
This is another well written addition to this series, where Helen’s dogged determination and investigation skills are what solve the crimes since this series is set before DNA and other scientific evidence is used. Helen is a character facing all the sexual discrimination of her time in the police force and so she works to be the best at what she does. I did find this addition to the series was a little more difficult to get moving at first, but once everyone was sorted it began to move at a faster pace and kept me intrigued to the satisfying conclusion. All the secondary characters are becoming more fully fleshed and realistic for their time period. I am looking forward to seeing were Helen goes from here.
I can recommend this Scottish police crime thriller book and the entire series!
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Author Bio
Jodie graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2018 with an MA in Creative Writing. When not writing, she is also an actress and has appeared in a variety of television, stage and film.
Today is my turn on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for the audiobook edition of THE NINTH SESSION by Deborah Serani.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, the author’s bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy and good luck on the giveaway!
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Book Description
An edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller that brings a unique mix of psychotherapy and sign language and Coda culture. Just when you think you have it figured out, think again!
Dr. Alicia Reese takes on a new patient. Lucas Ferro suffers with crippling anxiety, and as sessions progress, he begins to share the reasons why he’s struggling. As Ferro’s narrative becomes more menacing, Reese finds herself wedged between the cold hard frame of professional ethics and the integrity of personal truth. And, finally, when Ferro reveals his secrets, Reese learns how far she’s willing to go, willing to risk and willing to lose to do the right thing.
THE NINTH SESSION by Deborah Serani is an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller written and read in a unique style. The plot is revealed in a series of psychological therapy sessions, patient notes and self-reflection. I listened to the Audible audiobook version performed by the author herself and was captivated.
Psychologist Alicia Reese is scheduled to meet a new patient and finds him having an anxiety/panic attack in her office restroom. Lucas Ferro tells Alicia he has tried therapy before, but it never seems to work. With each new session, Lucas’s revelations become more menacing, and Alicia will have to choose between carrying on with his sessions, her professional ethics and/or doing the “right” thing.
I loved the way this story progressed and the unique way it was presented. Alicia is an interesting protagonist. Ms. Serani integrates Alicia’s history of having grown up in a CODA (Children of Deaf Adults) family, her still present grief at the death of her husband and her professional life all together in a memorable character. The plot follows Alicia’s sessions with Lucas and uncovering his history and secrets. As each surprise or twist is revealed, the threat and tension levels increase the pace to a realistic climax. This is a short standalone that I did not want to stop listening to.
I enjoyed Ms. Serani’s narration. It was clear with a steady pace. I was never confused with which character was speaking during her narration. I also enjoyed that during the “Note” sections of the story, the narration had a scratching noise in the background as if Alicia was truly writing while you are listening.
I highly recommend this psychological thriller!
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Author Bio
Deborah Serani, Psy.D. is psychologist in practice 30 years. She is also a senior professor at Adelphi University and has been published in academic journals on the subjects of depression and trauma. Dr. Serani is a go-to expert for psychological issues. Her interviews can be found at ABC News, CNN, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes, Reader’s Digest, The Washington Post and USA Today, and affiliate radio station programs at CBS and NPR, just to name a few. She is also a TEDx speaker and has lectured nationally and internationally. Dr. Serani has worked as a technical advisor for the NBC television show, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – where a recurring character, Judge D. Serani, was named for her. Dr. Serani is an award-winning author, writing about psychological topics in many genres.
Today is my turn on the Books n All Promotions Blog Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE EVIDENCE (Detective Helen Carter Book #2) by Jodie Lawrance.
Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
***
Book Blurb
SHE’S OUT OF UNIFORM BUT SHE’S STILL IN THE LINE OF FIRE.
Introducing the stunning follow-up in a thrilling new Scottish crime series starring Detective Helen Carter.
A young barmaid is found dead. She was murdered on her way home from work to look after her sick son.
Then another woman, Moira McKenzie, goes missing. All that’s left behind is a pool of blood and shattered glass.
Someone is terrorizing the women of Edinburgh and Detective Helen Carter means to stop them.
Helen is certain that Moira’s library records hold the key to her disappearance. But now she must convince her boss, Detective Inspector Jack Craven. And he doesn’t listen to her at the best of times . . .
Then another woman who suffered a similar attack to the murdered barmaid comes forward.
Helen knows the race is on to find Moira alive.
###
MEET THE DETECTIVE
Detective Sergeant Helen Carter is used to getting a rough time of it at work. As one of the few women officers around, she has heard it all before: she’s only there as a box-ticking exercise, or she only got the job because of her father, who was a detective inspector. But she can handle it. She knows she can hold her own against any man on the force. The only thing she can’t handle, however, are the constant fights with her fiancé, Ted.
THE SETTING
Edinburgh CID in the 1970s is on the third-floor of the ugly, modern concrete lump that is the police station. On a sunny day, you can look right out to Arthur’s Seat. And on any day, you can see spotty-faced, bored teenagers coming and going from the local high school across the road. With its historic cobbled streets and fair share of deprivation, Edinburgh police are up against every type of criminal imaginable.
THE EVIDENCE (Detective Helen Carter Book #2) by Jodie Lawrance is the second Scottish police procedural crime story featuring female detective, Helen Carter in the mid 1970’s. This book starts closely after the story in the first book ends. This second book can be read as a standalone, but having read the first book, the characters are becoming more three dimensional.
Detective Helen Carter is called to the scene of the grisly murder of barmaid Tina French on her way home from work. While she and her colleagues begin working this case, an abused woman, Moira McKenzie is reported missing by her husband. Helen finds the signs of a terrible struggle in Moira’s home with a lot of blood, but no victim.
Helen is still physically recovering from her last CID case as she looks for a killer terrorizing the women of Edinburgh.
I really enjoy reading crime books set in the 1970’s. Helen has to be smarter and more tenacious than any of her male contemporaries being the first female detective in her CID unit. The books are character driven with intricate red herrings and clues due to the lack of so many scientific advancements that police rely on today. It made me cringe, knowing what we know today about investigations, when a fellow detective smoked a cigarette at a crime scene. All the characters are realistically portrayed and their personal lives are quite messy which only makes me want to learn more.
I recommend this throw back Scottish police procedural crime series.
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Author Bio
Jodie graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2018 with an MA in Creative Writing. When not writing, she is also an actress and has appeared in a variety of television, stage and film.
