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Murder in Monte Carlo
Kathryn Lane’s Murder in Monte Carlo delivers an electrifying blend of intrigue, adventure, and high-stakes sleuthing. At its center is Nikki Garcia, a sharp and resourceful private investigator, whose latest mission draws her into a thrilling chase across international waters. Partnering with her husband, Eduardo, Nikki aims to track down a mastermind behind a series of audacious art thefts. The couple’s pursuit of justice is intertwined with the allure of a luxury cruise, balancing intense investigative work with moments of opulence and leisure. What begins as a seemingly straightforward investigation swiftly unravels into a labyrinth of deception. The case grows more intricate with each discovery, leading Nikki and Eduardo through a whirlwind of surprises and perilous encounters. Lane masterfully keeps readers on edge, weaving a narrative rich with unexpected twists and escalating stakes.
This sixth installment in the Nikki Garcia series stands firmly on its own, making it accessible to both newcomers and long-time fans. Lane’s talent for crafting compelling mysteries shines brightly here, blending a fast-paced plot with the charm of European settings. Her descriptive prose vividly captures the grandeur and mystique of the locations, immersing readers in a world of sophistication and danger.
One of the book’s standout elements is Lane’s evident passion for art, which adds authenticity and depth to the story. The art thefts central to the plot are more than just a narrative device; they are enriched by Lane’s detailed knowledge, enhancing the tension and stakes. Despite its many strengths, Murder in Monte Carlo leaves some room for improvement. I feel that the rapid pacing, while exhilarating, somewhat limits the opportunity for character development. Nikki and Eduardo’s personalities are intriguing but feel underexplored. I believe more nuanced backstories or emotional depth could have elevated the narrative, allowing readers to connect more deeply with the protagonists.
Murder in Monte Carlo is a dynamic and engaging addition to the cozy mystery genre. Its clever plot, vibrant settings, and gripping twists ensure it is a page-turner from start to finish. Lane’s storytelling prowess leaves readers eager to see where Nikki Garcia’s adventures will lead next.
Pages: 294 | ASIN : B0DJCH3WQ1
JimiJix Special Brew
JimiJix Special Brew is a gripping crime thriller that follows the unraveling life of Killian Doyle, a man shattered by the tragic loss of his wife and daughter. As he struggles to navigate his grief, Killian’s once-thriving career in advertising begins to crumble. His relationships deteriorate, culminating in a shocking act of violence that sets off a chain of events plunging him into a dark world of crime and revenge. The novel’s fast-paced narrative is infused with tension and unexpected twists, making it a compelling read from start to finish.
What struck me first about this book was how deeply it explores the psyche of a man broken by tragedy. Killian’s transformation from a vibrant, passionate professional to a hollow shell of his former self is palpable. Doherty does an excellent job of portraying the subtle and not-so-subtle changes in Killian’s character. The shift in Killian’s personality is a powerful commentary on how loss can fundamentally change a person, sometimes in ways that even they don’t recognize. The writing style is straightforward and punchy, which suits the gritty tone of the story. There are moments where the dialogue feels a bit too on-the-nose, almost like the characters are spelling out their thoughts for the reader. While this can be jarring, it doesn’t detract too much from the overall experience. The interactions between Killian and his mentor, Ted, are particularly vivid. Ted’s brutal honesty about the advertising industry paints a stark picture of the world Killian inhabits. This no-holds-barred attitude contrasts sharply with Killian’s growing sense of disillusionment, adding layers to his internal conflict. Doherty clearly has a deep understanding of the industry’s inner workings, and he uses this knowledge to create a backdrop that feels both authentic and suffocating. The cutthroat nature of the business is reflected in the novel’s tense atmosphere, where every decision feels like it could be the one that brings everything crashing down.
JimiJix Special Brew is a dark, intense thriller that delves deep into the human condition. It’s a story about grief, revenge, and the lengths to which people will go when pushed to their limits. While the writing can be a bit heavy-handed at times, the story’s emotional depth and the relentless pacing more than make up for it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys crime thrillers with complex characters and a psychological edge. It’s particularly suited for readers who appreciate stories that explore the darker sides of both human nature and professional life.
Pages: 286 | ASIN : B0D3FNXMR5
Survive the Day: A Butnari and Hill Crime Thriller
Survive the Day is an intriguing entry in the ‘Butnari and Hill Crime Thriller’ series. It’s an adventurous crime thriller that captures the essence of human resilience and determination. Author E. A. Coe masterfully intertwines the harrowing journey of Carmen, a young Mexican woman ensnared in human trafficking, with the meticulous and high-stakes world of FBI agents Marina Butnari and Douglas Hill. Coe’s portrayal of the dark world of human trafficking and the complex mechanisms of law enforcement makes for a gripping and eye-opening read.
Coe’s writing is both detailed and emotionally engaging, transporting readers into the heart of the action. The depiction of Carmen’s struggle, juxtaposed with the inner workings of the FBI, offers a comprehensive look into the multifaceted nature of crime and justice. Coe’s commitment to detail is evident throughout the novel. While the storyline is compelling, the narrative takes moments to delve deeply into procedural aspects, adding a layer of authenticity and depth to the world in the novel.
One thing I truly enjoyed about Survive the Day is its portrayal of character relationships, particularly the dynamic between agents Butnari and Hill. Coe crafts their interactions with a level of depth and complexity that adds a rich layer to the narrative. For example, their efforts during the intense rescue operation in Las Vegas highlight their professional competence and subtly reveal their mutual respect and underlying trust. This partnership, underpinned by their individual strengths and vulnerabilities, adds a compelling human element to the story, making the characters more relatable and the plot more impactful.
Survive the Day is a recommended read for fans of crime thrillers and readers interested in the nuances of law enforcement. Its realistic portrayal of human trafficking significantly contributes to the genre, and its compelling characters ensure an engaging experience. This book is particularly suited for readers who appreciate a blend of action, emotional depth, and a glimpse into the workings of the FBI.
Pages: 376 | ASIN : B0CTRGZGNS
Copper Waters – A New Zealand Cottage Mystery
Marlene M. Bell’s novel, Copper Waters, presents an electrifying saga of crime-solving set amidst the awe-inspiring landscape of New Zealand. The protagonist, Annalisse Drury, an antiquities appraiser, finds herself veering away from her complicated relationships, seeking solace in reconnecting with her past. In an unforeseen turn of events, with the assistance of her detective friend Bill Drake, she becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. Through Bell’s articulate narrative and compelling descriptions, readers are transported to the epicenter of the enigma. As the narrative unfolds, the suspense escalates with each revelation, culminating in a thrilling literary journey that leaves followers of crime fiction yearning for more adventures featuring the intriguing Annalisse Drury.
Bell’s evocative writing style is engrossing and engaging, plunging readers into a realm of mystery and suspense. Her adept utilization of crisp, vivid descriptions animates the tale, enabling readers to envision the breathtaking landscapes and palpably sense the looming tension. The narrative pace of Copper Waters is masterfully orchestrated, flawlessly juggling between high-octane action and anticipation-filled interludes. Bell demonstrates a profound understanding of narrative rhythm, modulating the pace to facilitate character growth and emotional complexity and accelerating it for adrenaline-fueled climaxes that keep readers in suspenseful anticipation.
The story’s authenticity is further amplified by the captivating backdrop of New Zealand. Bell’s meticulous detailing and comprehensive research are unmistakable, immersing readers into the vibrant landscapes, indigenous culture, and even the intriguing sphere of sheep farming. This novel offers a refreshing deviation from traditional locales that imbues the narrative with depth and texture.
Copper Waters is an enthralling and excellently-crafted crime-solving novel replete with a gripping plot, multifaceted characters, and an enchanting setting. It unquestionably qualifies as a page-turner, leaving readers eagerly awaiting future adventures. I enthusiastically recommend this book for its immersive narrative and gratifying reading experience, particularly for aficionados of crime fiction, intricate relationship dynamics, and exotic locales.
Pages: 280 | ASIN : B0BL42NBFY
Scam at Old River
Jack is no stranger to difficult situations. It’s certainly not unheard of for him to get into the occasional jam, but his current predicament might be the strangest one yet. When Jack awakens to find a stranger beating on his door, he can’t predict the wild ride on which he will soon find himself. Debbie, the woman he has been seeing, has somewhat of a secret she has been keeping from him, and the man beating down Jack’s door knows exactly what that secret is. Assuming he is about to find help for them both, Jack calls the police, only to discover that Debbie is long gone.
Scam at Old River, by Mike MacKay, is a mystery/crime novel centered around Jack Rhodes, a man skilled in both computers and martial arts. Every interaction with Jack is an adventure, and he is no stranger to romance. As the main characters go, Jack is gutsy, determined, and possesses a sense of humor that lends itself well to this genre.
Mysteries have always topped my reading lists, and MacKay’s works rank right up there. MacKay keeps readers on their toes and leads them through a series of quickly-paced events, each peppered with the perfect amount of action and intense interactions between characters. Jack is a no-nonsense guy who gets to the point but has to deal with more than his fair share of struggles as he searches for answers.
The secondary characters in MacKay’s novel are ideal companions for Jack. Their dynamics are relatable and hold readers’ interest from the book’s intense first chapter to its final pages. Stella and Jack have some truly genuine exchanges throughout the book. The way they discuss their pasts and share with one another sets the stage for a relationship readers will cheer for from the beginning.
Jack’s unique skills make MacKay’s book a standout in the mystery genre. I found it interesting that the main character’s skillset centered around computers and processes and the way they relate to forensics. Though MacKay has chosen to give him physical strength and knowledge in martial arts, his abilities with computers make him all the more interesting.
Scam at Old River, by Mike MacKay, is a little more than 300 pages, but this novel moves quickly, keeping readers engaged and fully invested in Jack and Stella’s adventure. I highly recommend MacKay’s book to anyone looking for mystery/crime steeped in action with a touch of romance. I look forward to following Jack Rhodes throughout more of Mike MacKay’s novels.
Pages: 305 | ASIN : B092Z81G7L
I Wanted To Write About A “Real” Heroine
Death in Paris follows a school teacher that sets off for a new job in Istanbul and while on the way gets entangled in a murder mystery. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
This is a Cozy, which follows all the Cozy conventions and the complex 15-point Cozy plotline.
Many Cozies feature women who unexpectedly become business owners or have exotic jobs.
I wanted to write about a “real” heroine who had a normal job. I wanted her to be a salt-of-the-earth type that anyone could relate to.
To use talents that she really had in order to solve crazy mysteries in a real way. Not to always know better than the police or to stumble on answers. To be a real sleuth, because she needed to be. “Cometh the hour, cometh the (wo)man.”
I wanted her to be a person, someone that people could feel for, and feel with.
The most relatable place and time for me is Glasgow in the 1970s. It was a time and place full of real-life heroines.
I wanted the reader to meet the women Màiri loves and understand why she loves them, maybe even to love them too.
Màiri Maguire struggles at the start of the novel with her situation and becomes a strong character as the novel progresses. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Màiri is a real person to me. She wrote herself. She is a strong person with a strong voice but she is also soft and gentle, loving and caring, kind and compassionate. And she’s nobody’s fool, despite always seeing the best in people to the point, sometimes, of seeming gullibility.
Put a person like that into a situation like the one in Death in Paris and she cannot help but become even stronger.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The massive global change in attitudes that began in the 1970s. In Britain, the 1970s were a period when almost all thinking people thought that almost all the world’s problems could be solved by education. Give the working classes a university education, a degree, and they’ll become just like us, thought the upper class intelligentsia. Get the upper classes down the mines for a day, and they’ll soon learn what it means to be a worker, thought the thinking workers.
And everyone loved The Beatles and Carnaby Street; and we really truly believed that we ourselves could be agents of massive global change for the common good.
The meeting of polar opposites on common ground and finding friendship inspired the introduction of Major Peverel, who has been a popular character.
The courage under fire of the Brits living through what was effectively an undeclared war, their everyday lives a battlefield.
I myself lived in frequently-bombed London, I was within seconds of gory death twice. Once if I had arrived at the tubestation 20 seconds earlier. Once if I had walked down The Strand 30 seconds later.
Many people did die. Many were horribly maimed. But we still lived our everyday lives in an everyday way and had a lot of fun.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Death on the Istanbul Express
Book 2 in the series. It will be available at the end of May 2022.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
8:10 a.m. on 15th August 1970. They’ve been in Paris only 12 hours. Lianna, Màiri’s closest friend, is locked up in jail, charged with murder. Màiri is being hunted by murderous criminals. She never dreamt that travelling outside Scotland would be so dangerous. Will Màiri ever again see her comfy home in Merrylea, her loving sisters Morag and Katriona, her schoolboy nephew Niall?
Major Ellis Peverel seldom leaves Màiri’s side. Respected by the Paris police, shrouded in secrets, who is this man? Is he a true friend to Màiri, or does he have an agenda of his own?
Who really killed the corrupt taxman for whose death Lianna has been framed? Màiri has only 6 days to find the murderer. Can she free Lianna in time? Or must she choose between her friend’s freedom and her own livelihood… if she’s still alive.
Death in Paris
Death in Paris by Kate Darroch, (Màiri Maguire Cozy Murder Mysteries Book One) follows a school teacher, Màiri Maguire. She starts the summer holiday with her boyfriend of twelve years, breaking up with her when he returns to Glasgow with a new girlfriend he met while working overseas. Màiri takes a job as the Head of English Studies at the Nautical High School in Istanbul to escape the embarrassment and convinces her friend Lianna to travel with her to work as her assistant. During the train trip across Europe, they book a City Break (a package holiday tour) in Paris. When Lianna becomes the chief suspect in a murder, the school teacher turned amateur detective begins her own investigation to clear her friend’s name.
This book starts slowly, methodically introducing the characters and the background to why Màiri is traveling to Istanbul. However, the story picks up the pace once Màiri and Lianna set off on their journey. I especially enjoyed it once the intrigue element was introduced after they arrived in Paris.
With so many characters making an appearance on the train to Paris, it might have been difficult for readers to keep them all straight. However, the author included portions of Màiri’s notebook as she worked on figuring out the clues; which helps readers remember all the details and keep track of who is who. It also makes readers feel like part of the story, working to solve the mystery alongside Màiri.
There were a lot of threads connecting various characters, and I enjoyed trying to figure out how everything fits together. I had an idea of who I thought was the killer, but the story gives so many red herrings that I was not certain, and it kept me guessing until the end of the story. There were a few unexpected surprises revealed when the mystery was finally solved. I liked that the story ended with a new mystery to solve, leading to the next book of the Màiri Maguire Cozy Murder Mysteries series, Death on the Istanbul Express.
Death in Paris is the first in a new cozy murder series that will put mystery readers on the hunt for a killer. This international crime story is reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s novels and is filled with details about Paris that will allow readers to fully immerse themselves in the mystery.
Pages: 189 | ASIN : B09PMP4J6Y
A Reluctant Protagonist
Flotsam follows a diver that stumbles upon two murder victims. While assisting in the investigation she becomes the next potential victim. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I knew from the beginning that Ricky would be a reluctant protagonist and that it would be tied to her being a divemaster, so that was the first step. The second was that it needed to be something that was outside of the normal divemaster experience — dive accidents are something they train and any accident would reflect badly on Ricky, so it couldn’t be anything having to do with a diver. As I tried to figure this out, I decided that “place” might help in the decision. Once I decided on Palau, and its complex relationship with the Japanese, I began to research the yakuza and found a story about the yakuza kidnapping a South Korean politician with plans to weigh him down and throw him overboard into the Sea of Japan (spoiler alert: Japanese officials intercepted the boat just as the yakuza were bringing him up to the deck and he was saved)
Ricky is a complex character that even other characters have trouble understanding. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Ricky doesn’t think she’s complex. She is, at her core, conflict-averse. That’s why she tries to keep whole oceans between her and her family. But she has a trigger, which is an innate sense of responsibility. And when that trigger gets flipped, when others refuse to take responsibility and accountability that is theirs, she is stubbornly going to work to right the wrong. But there’s a better answer: Ricky is based on roughly a dozen women divemasters I’ve met over the years. They work and live in a male-dominated environment, 24 by 7. They have to know when to be conciliatory and when to be dominant. They are fun-loving but incredibly reliable once they step on the boat. For Ricky, the history that influences her decision of when to make that switch goes back to her teenage years in Hawai’i and her experience with a man who murdered her best friend.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Obviously, I’ve included a mix of local politics and environmental advocacy in the book. These are prominent in Palau’s everyday experience. In fact, when you enter Palau today, they take up a whole page of your passport with the Palau Pledge. It begins “Children of Palau, I take this pledge as your guest to preserve and protect your beautiful and unique island home.” Palau is at the forefront of the concept of shark sanctuaries and continues to expand that model. I don’t think you can tell a story about Palau without including that.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Most people will be disappointed to hear that it’s not called Jetsam. There are actually four categories in maritime law that relate to shipwrecks. Derelict and Lagan are the other two. Book two will be Derelict. I’m a big fan of Tana French and her concept of keeping the story fresh by maintaining certain elements but shifting others around in the Dublin Murder Squad. The sites change and the protagonists change. Minor characters become lead characters. I decided that I would use a primary characteristic of expat divemasters and that every book would be in a new locale. Derelict is based in the Sinai Peninsula in Dahab, a small town with a very famous (and dangerous) dive site. I went to Dahab on December 27 of 2012, one day after the new president imposed a new constitution, spurring protests and clashes throughout the country. Some of my experiences made it into the book. It will be available in June of 2022.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
When her morning dive is interrupted by a spinning tangle of chains and bodies, she is dragged into an international free-for-all. As authorities bicker, and rumors fly, the villains fight to eliminate loose ends, tracking Ricky through WWII tunnels, on a high speed chase through the lush tropical islands, and back to where it all began – the edge of her favorite cliff.
LITERARY TITAN 