THOSE EMPTY EYES by Charlie Donlea is a complex and gripping thriller featuring the notorious sole survivor of the murder of her family and her ten-year search for their killer. I have read several of Mr. Donlea’s books and he never fails to keep me turning the pages in anticipation of the inevitable unexpected twists to come.
Alex Quinlan not only survived the horrific murder of her parents and brother but is accused of the crime and dubbed “Empty Eyes” by the insatiable media. When the state’s case falls apart, Alex with the help of her attorney sues the state for defamation and while she wins the case, the media still has doubts of her innocence.
Ten years later and Alex is now Alex Armstrong and working as an investigator for her attorney’s law firm. When she is sent to investigate the disappearance of a college student, Alex discovers unexpected connections to the murder of her family and soon realizes that those she is closest to may not be who they seem.
This is one of those books that you think is finished with the revelation of the killer, but it is not. A twist filled plot and another in the last pages of the book, make this a book that will be discussed long after “The End” whether you liked it or not. Alex is a character that you immediately feel sympathy for with her treatment after the murder of her family, but as the story continues, she grows into a strong and intelligent protagonist who refuses to forget the past but seeks answers from it. This thriller has intriguing characters that are fully fleshed and believable, multiple mysteries and shocking twists that never end.
I highly recommend this intriguing thriller!
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About the Author
Charlie Donlea is the #1 internationally bestselling author of Summit Lake, The Girl Who Was Taken, Don’t Believe It, Some Choose Darkness, The Suicide House, Twenty Years Later, and Those Empty Eyes. Praised for his “soaring pace, teasing plot twists” (BookPage) and talent for writing an ending that “makes your jaw drop” (The New York Times Book Review), Donlea has been called a “bold new writer…on his way to becoming a major figure in the world of suspense” (Publishers Weekly). A late bloomer, he was twenty years old when he read his first novel––THE FIRM by John Grisham––and knew he would someday write thrillers. His books have now been translated into twenty languages across nearly forty countries.
He was born and raised in Chicago, where he continues to live with his wife and two children.
Picture a lovely cottage on a cliff, with sloping lawns, walking paths, and beautiful flowers. It’s Gabe and Pippa Gerard’s dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Over the past several months, Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge.
Until one day, he doesn’t.
When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral. . . .Did the victim jump? Was she pushed? And would Gabe, the love of Pippa’s life, her soulmate . . . lie? As the perfect façade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel. Because sometimes, the most convincing lies are the ones we tell ourselves.
THE SOULMATE by Sally Hepworth is a twisted domestic psychological suspense/thriller that continually surprised me. I have been avoiding this genre because I felt they all read alike and began to bore me, but this story is anything but cookie cutter and boring. This is a standalone book that you will want to make time to read.
Gabe and Pippa and their two small daughters have moved to their dream cottage in a small coastal Australian town. The only problem is the cottage has a cliff behind their home called “The Drop” at the end of the street that people use to end their lives. Since their move, Gabe has been very successful at talking people away from the ledge, until Pippa watching through the kitchen window, sees a woman Gabe is talking to go over the cliff.
Did she jump or was she pushed?
When Pippa discovers the identity of the woman, questions and doubts begin to tear their seemingly perfect marriage apart.
While the protagonists of this story are Gabe and Pippa, another couple Max and Amanda play a pivotal role throughout this always surprising plot. The story itself is narrated by Pippa in the now and in the then, while intertwining with Amanda telling her narration in the before and the after. It may sound confusing, but it is surprisingly easy to follow as they tell the reader about their marriages. This story focuses on how each couple looked at their own marriage, fidelity and partnership with the suspense occurring whenever their lives intersected. There are many secrets that I cannot reveal, but I will say that every time I felt I knew where the plot was headed, I was wrong. The author did an excellent job of showing Gabe’s mental illness through his actions and the codependence Pippa displayed. This is an exciting read that showed me there are still some domestic suspense stories worth reading even though I am not sure I liked the climax.
I recommend this domestic psychological suspense/thriller.
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About the Author
Sally Hepworth is the bestselling author of The Secrets of Midwives (2015), The Things We Keep (2016) The Mother’s Promise (2017), The Family Next Door (2018), The Mother In Law (April 2019), The Good Sister (April 2021) and The Younger Wife (April 2022). Hollywood actress and producer, Amy Poehler, has optioned The Mother In Law for a TV series.
Sally’s books have been labelled “enchanting” by The Herald Sun, “smart and engaging” by Publisher’s Weekly, and New York Times bestselling authors Liane Moriarty and Emily Giffin have praised Sally’s novels as “women’s fiction at its finest” and “totally absorbing”. Sally’s novels are available worldwide in English and have been translated into 10+ languages.
Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and three children.
He performs his profane ceremony in a wooded Minneapolis park, anointing his victims, then setting the bodies ablaze. He has already claimed three lives, and he won’t stop there. Only this time there is a witness. But she isn’t talking.
Enter Kate Conlan, former FBI agent turned victim/witness advocate. Not even she can tell if the reluctant witness is a potential victim or something more troubling still. Her superiors are interested only because the latest victim may be the daughter of Peter Bondurant, an enigmatic billionaire. When Peter pulls strings, Special Agent John Quinn gets assigned to the case. But the FBI’s ace profiler of serial killers is the last person Kate wants to work with, not with their troubled history. Now she faces the most difficult role of her career—and her life. For she’s the only woman who has what it takes to stop the killer . . . and the one woman he wants next.
ASHES TO ASHES (Kovac and Liska Book #1) by Tami Hoag is the start of a new series featuring a former FBI agent who is now a local law enforcement victim advocate and a high-profile FBI serial killer profiler who share a personal past. This book does have graphic scenes of violence and torture, but it is expected when I read a serial killer suspense by this author and she adeptly mixes the gruesome with a humanizing empathy for the victims, witty dialogue, and a subplot second chance romance that will carry on through the series.
The Minneapolis papers have named him “The Cremator” after his killing of two prostitutes who he tortured and then left burning is public parks. His third victim is a billionaire’s daughter and that has the police and politicians scrambling.
Former FBI agent now victim advocate Kate Conlan is assigned to a teenage witness who claims to have witnessed “The Cremator” setting the latest victim on fire and FBI profiler John Quinn is called in by the billionaire’s father to assist the Minneapolis authorities. As they work together to catch a sadistic killer who continually taunts the police, they are also dealing with a complicated past from when Kate left the FBI five years previously.
As Kate and John get closer to catching the killer, the killer still has some twisted surprises in store for Kate. Will she survive the attention of “The Cremator”?
I enjoyed this serial killer thriller/police procedural/romantic suspense mash-up from start to finish. There are graphic scenes of torture against women, but this is a serial killer thriller story, so I expected them, and Ms. Hoag is adept at giving me the chills without making the scenes seem gratuitous. The story is more suspense/thriller than romance, but there are two seriously hot sex scenes as Kate and John work through their complicated pasts and come together for the future books in the series. I will say that the revelations surrounding the killer’s identity surprised me and made for a tense and exciting conclusion. As you may have noticed, Conlan and Quinn are not Kovac and Liska which is why I did not give this book more stars. Kovac and Liska are the Minneapolis detectives in this story and while they are important players and had great wise-cracking dialogue, I did not feel they were the focus like Kate and John.
Not for the faint of heart, but I enjoyed the start to this series and I am looking forward to continuing the series.
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About the Author
Tami Hoag is the #1 international bestselling author of more than thirty books published in more than thirty languages worldwide, including her latest thrillers–COLD COLD HEART and THE 9TH GIRL. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller list with NIGHT SINS, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting. A woman of eclectic tastes, to say the least, Tami was recently asked to list seven things people may not know about about her: 1. I was once offered a job by a private investigator. 2. I have a license to carry concealed weapon, but never do. I took the course for research purposes. 3. My high school guidance counselor encouraged me to become an actress, but I thought that was too impractical (Of course, there’s nothing practical about being a writer, either, but at least I’m not obligated to look good on a daily basis.) 4. I used to sing at weddings. 5. While I have no intention of ever getting married again, I love watching Say Yes To The Dress 6. I have legitimate knockout power in my right hand, and I’m not afraid to use it. 7. When I’m stressed out, all tech devices around me go haywire. I’ve stopped watches, and fried hard drives. I once killed a television in a store display by merely touching it. I’m better off sticking to life’s simple pleasures–like books!
Luck is the story of Daniel – a man born with the gift of being able to influence others. He learns that he can both charm as well as destroy. As his ability grows, so does his craving for acceptance.
Once his ability is unleashed on the American political stage, Daniel finds that he no longer has to settle with charming the few. Now he can control the minds of the masses, as his own sanity descends into a tormented oblivion.
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Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
LUCK by Chris Coppel is an engrossing political thriller/horror/sci-fi mash-up that continually left me guessing what twist was coming next. I have always believed the truth of the quote “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts completely.” and with Daniel’s gift, I could not wait to see where this story led.
Daniel was born with a gift. From his birth, he is able to see auras around people and influence them accordingly. He learns as he grows how to charm them, use them, or destroy them. He successfully ascends to the heights of a business career and now he has his sights set on a political career. Daniel can not only control the masses in live audiences, but also through the television cameras. The more he uses his special power to advance the more reckless and dangerous he becomes.
Daniel plans on taking the highest office in the land, but someone from his past is making their own plans to stop him.
This story has a bit of everything. I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see what Daniel would do next or who he would hurt and the author would throw in a bit of humor or political satire. This is a fast-paced story that is at times horrifying, shocking, and captivating. I think almost everyone wants people to like them and agree with them, but this story takes that desire to the extreme in a twisted and interesting way.
This is the second book I have read by this author and I can truly state that he always leaves me thinking about the characters and story I have just read, and he also always leaves me with a surprise twist at the end.
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About the Author
Chris believes that stories should be able to transport the reader to different places, where they can experience events and dimensions that have never been considered. Chris is able to write gentle fable-like adventures (Far From Burden Dell) as well as opening the pages into dark and terrifying stories where dimensions co-exist with indescribable evil. (Legacy).
Chris Coppel was born in California and has since split his time between the USA and Europe, living in California, Spain, France, Switzerland and England.
Chris has held senior operations positions for both Warner Bros. and Universal Studios. Chris also held the position of Director of Operations for UCLA’s Film School where he also taught advanced screen writing. Chris and his wife Clare spent many years helping animal rescue with Best Friends Animal Society in Utah. Before joining Best Friends, Chris was President and Managing Director of the Home Entertainment Division of Testronics in Los Angeles.
Following in his father’s footsteps (Alec Coppel wrote Vertigo among many other successful movies) Chris has written numerous screenplays as well as the novels Far From Burden Dell, Luck, The Lodge, Legacy and Lakebed.
Chris is also an accomplished drummer and guitarist. He and his wife currently live in the UK.
Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie delves into secret organizations, hidden agendas, and how someone can take back control over their life.
At thirty-nine, Nicole Mueller’s life is on the rocks. Her once brilliant law career is falling apart. She and her husband, Dan, are soon to be forced out of the apartment they love. After a warning from her firm’s senior partners, she receives an invitation from an exclusive women’s networking group, Panthera Leo. Membership is anonymous, but every member is a successful professional. It sounds like the perfect solution to help Nicole revive her career. So, despite Dan’s concerns that the group might be a cult, Nicole signs up for their retreat in Colorado.
Once there, she meets the other women who will make up her Pride. A CEO, an actress, a finance whiz, a congresswoman: Nicole can’t believe her luck. The founders of Panthera Leo are equally as impressive. They explain the group’s core philosophy: they’re a girl’s club in a boy’s club world.
Nicole is all in. And when she gets home, she soon sees dividends. Her new network quickly provides her with clients that help her relaunch her career, and a great new apartment too. The favors she must provide in return seem benign. But then she’s called to the congresswoman’s apartment late at night where she’s pressed into helping her cover up a crime. And suddenly, Dan’s concerns that something more sinister is at play seem all too relevant. Nicole questions if joining Panthera Leo was the biggest mistake of her life and wonders how to extricate herself from the group.
Readers will be reminded of the problems women face at work, the Me-Too movement, networking, marriage, blending private and public lives, which are all part of this thriller.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Catherine McKenzie: I received an email many years ago inviting me to a women’s networking group with different professions. I was told I was recommended by someone although they would not tell me who. I thought if I decided to do it everything would then be made clear to me. However, I did not keep that email. I did not go partly because my husband said it was crazy. Some of the professions are intricate to the plot.
EC: What is the theme?
CM: Feminism is a theme. There is still a long way to go with the old boys’ network. It is underground, but still there. They are less overt now. I put in this quote, “If you need anything you come to this group. To your Pride… women don’t need to fight for their dominance; they join willingly to achieve the best result for all.” This is the mantra of the book. There is a stereotype that women are competitive with each other. This is because usually there is only one woman around the board table. If another woman comes in, they are perceived as a rival. I do think men pit women against each other. Everyone is socialized to be super critical and observant of women’s behavior. I do not think women are cattier or more aggressive around other women.
EC: How would you describe Nicole?
CM: A hard worker who is super smart. Mono-focused. She has put everything into her career without many friends. She wanted to be the best for her job. After her dreams were not realized she felt very vulnerable. She can be self-centered and insensitive at times. She does like her comforts.
EC: How would you describe the husband, Dan?
CM: He goes along to get along. He is a good person. Dan is OK with being second fiddle in their relationship and allows Nicole to take control and make decisions. He was the direct opposite of Nicole. Very easy going and laid back, charming, cautious, and kind. What I did in this book and other novels is to put women in the roles occupied by men and vice-versa.
EC: What about the LEO organization?
CM: It has CULT vibes. The women in charge of it use some of the techniques of a cult to control the others. They become all the people in Nicole’s life and discourage her to go outside the group. They do the providing. They are manipulative, dominant, demand loyalty, and obedience.
EC: You were brave for bringing up Covid-19 in this story?
CM: I struggled with it. I wrote it in 2020 but knew it was coming out in 2022. I thought about my different options: do I pretend it never existed, or do I consider it over. I thought that I was not going to skip over it entirely. I did want it to exist.
EC: Any movies or TV shows on the horizon?
CM: This book has been optioned for a TV series. My book, I Never Tell was also optioned. Nothing has been announced yet.
EC: The next book?
CM: It is titled, Have You Seen Her, about a search and rescue worker in Yosemite. It will be out in June next year.
THANK YOU!!
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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.
New York Times bestselling author Lisa Black launches a pulse-pounding new series with a taut, compelling forensic thriller that introduces Dr. Ellie Carr and Dr. Rachael Davies, who must combine their expertise to solve deadly crimes . . .
When D.C. crime scene analyst Dr. Ellie Carr is called to investigate the heartrending case of a missing baby, she’s shocked to discover that the child’s mother is her own cousin. Close during their impoverished childhoods, Ellie and Rebecca eventually drifted apart. Rebecca is now half of a Washington power couple, and she and her wealthy lobbyist husband, Hunter, have been living a charmed life in an opulent mansion—until their infant son is taken.
“Every contact leaves a trace.” That’s the basic principle of forensic science followed by pathologist Dr. Rachael Davies. A reluctant Ellie is teamed with Rachael, employed by Hunter to help with the investigation. Rachael is assistant dean at the prestigious Locard Forensic Institute, named in honor of the French criminologist who inspired the profession. But in this case, discovering where those traces lead quickly becomes a dangerous journey through a web of greed and deadly ambition.
At first antagonists, then allies, Ellie and Rachael race to find the baby alive and bring the kidnappers to justice. What seemed like a simple ransom grab reveals links to a lobbying effort to loosen regulations on a billion-dollar gaming empire. Unless they can piece together the evidence before the Senate hearing, Rebecca’s son—and others like him—will face an unthinkable fate . . .
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Elise’s Thoughts
Red Flags by Lisa Black combines a clever mystery with a forensic thriller. This first in the series introduces Dr. Ellie Carr, part of the FBI’s evidence response team, with Dr. Rachel Davies, a pathologist at the private forensics’ lab, Locard Institute. Having a forensic background herself, the author Black weaves her own professional experience into the plot, making it a realistic story.
Dr. Ellie Carr is called to investigate the vanishing of 4-month-old Mason Carlisle, who disappeared without a trace. The baby’s dad, Hunter, owns a lobbying firm, while the mother, Rebecca is a policy adviser to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ellie cannot believe it when she discovers that Rebecca is a cousin whom she was close with as a child but has not seen in more than fifteen years. Thinking that she should recuse herself, Ellie finds out that she is staying on the case. By leaving her in an official capacity she wonders if the FBI wants her to be a spy or a scapegoat since Rebecca and Hunter are suspects.
To make matters worse, Hunter decides to have Dr. Rachael Davies, a pathologist with the Locard Institute join in the investigation. At first, Rachael and Ellie were standoffish towards each other, but slowly a friendship develops as they begin to rely on each other. After the parents of Hunter’s co-workers also have their children kidnapped it becomes a race against time to bring back the children alive. It seems that the Carlisles’ professions and their involvement in a gaming industry become the clues from which Rachael and Ellie begin to unwind the investigation.
As the pages are turned the tension rises. The investigation is interesting and the detail about forensics is a bonus. The twists offer different red herrings to keep readers guessing.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Is this the first in a new series?
Lisa Black: I planned this as a series. For my other series, I thought to write one book and then it grew into a series when the publisher wants more. This one I planned it so my characters would have a lot of background, direction, personal issues, and a set-up where they would not be tied up in one city since I love to travel. My past two series were set in Cleveland.
EC: What about the Locard Institute?
LB: A private institute that does training, research and private cases regarding forensic cases, anything from ballistics to DNA analysis. They can go to different places including internationally. They investigate extortion, kidnapping, and murder. I like to have different crimes occur. I am fascinated with white collar crime like extortion, con men, and fraud.
EC: How would you describe Ellie?
LB: She is a crime scene specialist. But in this case, she finds out that part of this very wealthy family includes her cousin with whom she lived for a time when she was young. They were as close as sisters. She is very much at loose ends. After her mother died, she lived with her grandmother, then an aunt/uncle with some cousins, and was moved to other aunts/uncles. She was always loved and well cared for, but a lot of moving around for a child, forcing her to act like a guest. Now she is recently divorced with her ex-husband as her boss. Ellie is detailed, does not like to make waves, and is not pushy. She tries to make herself invincible, not front and center.
EC: How would you describe Rachael, the assistant director of the Locard Institute?
LB: She is a lot more stable than Ellie. After her sister died, she and her mother are raising her 2-year-old nephew. Her life outside of her family is the Locard Institute. She is an observer, confidant, patient, tries to keep a neutral face, and smoother than Ellie in working with people.
EC: Did your professional experience help you to write these stories?
LB: As a forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office, I have analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood, and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I am a latent print examiner and certified crime analyst for the Cape Coral Police Department in Florida, working mostly with fingerprints and crime scenes. Some organizations I belong to are the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the International Association for Identification, and the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts. I know what happens at a crime scene, what realistically would happen. The police officer, the detective, the forensic personal, and the pathologist, each have a distinct skill. The FBI does cooperate with the local police, but there are jurisdictional issues.
EC: You explain the different emotions of victims?
LB: You are referring to this quote, “Victims could ping-pong back and forth between despair and seeming normality, sobbing with deep animal cries one minute and making a joke the next, transitioning through three extreme emotions in the span of one sentence.” There are all sorts of different responses of people in crime scenes. Sometimes they have a horrible scream. Two people in the same family in the same house can have different emotions. I went to a burglary once; the mother was sobbing like her heart was broken.
EC: On-line gaming plays a crucial role in this story? I thought of the Brad Paisley song, “online.”
LB: Yes. I thought how anyone can say anything on the Internet. A pedophile can be in a chat room pretending to be a fourteen-year-old. This is every mother’s worst nightmare. Now it is required for a parent to put all this personal information in so their child can play a game. I thought what is happening to all this information. Is it being data mined or is your child being targeted by advertising? Games are designed to keep children playing, literally addicting bordering on psychological manipulation. Children can buy accessories within this game like weapons or costumes. Actor Jack Black’s eight-year-old son ran up $7,000. The game itself is free, but it’s the in-app purchases that make the money. There are congressional hearings that try to come up with new regulations.
EC: Next book?
LB: The title is What Harms You, out next August. It is book two. The Locard Institute offers training for law enforcement personnel. The story has a serial killer going to this CSI School, the Locard Institute. The serial killer learns information so as not to get caught.
THANK YOU!!
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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.
