I’ve read everything I could lay my hands on since I was young, and like so many others, I’ve always preferred to read about unusual characters, uncommon situations, or both simultaneously. The books I described here fulfill those requirements for me, even though they are superficially very different from one another. Now that I write my own novels, my over-arching goal is for each of my books to be better than the one that precedes it. I do my best to offer my readers interesting characters in compelling situations, and if my readers think I’ve succeeded, I will be a very happy author.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book for its compelling characters, especially the protagonist, MC McCall. She’s a postal inspector. I knew postal inspectors existed, but I didn’t know until I read this book that postal inspectors are federal law enforcement officers.
I also enjoyed the book’s other characters, McCall’s friends and co-workers, as well as the people she meets while she’s working. The author made the characters distinctive from one another, which made my reading experience so much more enjoyable. The plot lines were strong and held my interest, but I most enjoyed reading about McCall and those around her. This is the first book in the series, and I’m very much looking forward to reading all of them.
"Judy Kerr may be the new mystery kid on the block, but Black Friday is a crime novel you won't want to miss. This engaging debut will not only have you guessing as you move deeper into the story, but perfectly sets up the next in the series. Highly recommended!" MWA Grandmaster Ellen Hart, author of the Jane Lawless series
US Postal Inspector MC McCall has it all: a loving and supportive life partner, a nice home in St. Paul, and the job of her dreams. When she is assigned to a newsworthy joint task force headed by the FBI,…
I always want to read a good story, but the characters must be compelling. The protagonist in this book is Leona Reese, a sergeant in the Saint Paul police department. She’s worked hard for that position, but when she ignores her vision problems and fails her shooting range test, she’s reassigned to another unit.
In her new assignment, she works with Thom, another investigator who is wheelchair-bound. He has an off-beat sense of humor about his condition, which adds humor to an otherwise serious book. Those bits of humor play off nicely against Leo’s ongoing vision problems while they work together to solve a murder. There are two books in this series, and I’ve heard a third one is in the works. It’ll be worth the wait.
Leona "Leo" Reese is a 33-year-old police patrol sergeant with over ten years of law enforcement experience. After she fails her bi-yearly shooting qualification due to a vision problem, Leo is temporarily assigned to the investigations division of the state's Department of Human Services. She's shell-shocked by her vision impairment and frustrated to be reassigned to another department, even temporarily. On her first day on the new job, she's saddled with a case where a woman at an independent living facility has been murdered by an apparent burglar. But all is not as it seems, and it will take all…
This book checks all the boxes. I love books with interesting and off-beat characters, and I'm delighted if they’re in unusual settings. The setting is a remote island off the coast of Maine, inhabited only by the descendants of native people and survivors of a 1700s shipwreck. The setting in this book is a character itself, and I loved it.
The people are just as fascinating. Kathleen Halloran returns to the island after a long absence, and Molly Cooper, a lifelong resident who’s unhappy when Kathleen shows up. My favorite characters were elderly sisters Louisa and Olivia. There’s a long-time mystery, island “woo woo,” and some romance. The storylines are well-done, but the setting and characters made this book one of my favorites.
Nearly twenty-five years ago, Kathleen Halloran’s brother drowned during the last summer they ever spent with their grandmother on a remote island off Maine’s coast. Like a siren’s call she can’t resist, Kathleen is pulled back to Little Sister Island. She leaves her job and her girlfriend, packs up her few belongings, and moves into her grandmother’s cottage.Molly Cooper loves life on Little Sister, where the islanders take care of their own. Kathleen Halloran doesn’t belong here, and her arrival stirs up unwelcome memories for the islanders—including Molly’s brother. Molly is certain Kathleen will pack up at the first big…
Quirky characters are my favorite, and if they come with a snarky attitude and impending death, so much the better. Nerdy Bill gets invited to a party by a beautiful woman he meets by chance. At the party, he’s turned into a vampire. This is the first book in a series following Bill’s adventures as one of the undead, along with his human friends and a host of other characters, including a 300-year-old vampire girl who claims Bill as her mate, sasquatches, rock people, and the human woman Bill loves from afar.
I’ve read the entire series at least three times, and I’m always entertained. The writing is good and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, and the storylines are somehow plausible. It's one of my favorites, for sure.
THERE ARE REASONS WE FEAR THE NIGHT. HE'S NOT ONE OF THEM.
Dateless dork Bill Ryder never suspected it would take death to make his life a hell of a lot more interesting, but then he met a girl to die for - so he did.
Now he’s a vampire, surrounded by creatures stronger, deadlier, and much cooler than he is. They’re giving him just ninety days to prove he has what it takes to be an apex predator of the night, assuming he doesn’t give them a reason to dust his ass sooner.
I have a soft spot for stories in which animals play a prominent role, and this book does that very well. Jerry McNeal is a police officer with a special talent. He senses when something bad is about to happen, and when he follows his intuition, he’s always right. When he runs off the road in a snowstorm, a large dog climbs into his car and keeps him warm until he’s rescued. Only later does he learn he was saved by a police dog who had died in the line of duty.
I love the partnership that develops between Jerry and the dog, especially since Jerry’s adjustment to having a ghostly partner is amusing. The book is short but well-written, with humor adding sparkle to the story.
Call it a premonition. Call it intuition. Call it anything you like, but Pennsylvania State Trooper Jerry McNeal simply thinks of it as "that feeling."
That feeling may come on without warning, so intense he can't breathe.
Or, it may be a gentle nag that pulls at him until he decides to do something about it. He never quite knows what "it" is until he gets there, but when he arrives, he always knows he's found what he is looking for.
During one of the biggest snowstorms of the year, Trooper McNeal feels that familiar stir. An unease that grows…
Annie Velasquez is a 28-year-old woman living in Charbonneau, Oregon. She moved there after the death of her father in an arson fire. The person suspected of causing the fire, Annie’s girlfriend, is later found murdered. The police focus on Annie, who could have revenge as her motive. Under suspicion and grieving the loss of her father, she moves to Charbonneau.
Annie works as a housekeeper for a wealthy doctor. One morning, she discovers he’d been stabbed to death. Annie believes she knows the killer’s identity and sets out to prove her suspicions. The police tell her to stop, which she ignores. She learns the hard way that she isn’t as stealthy as she believes when the killer catches up with her.
Kelly Simmons has been published in 12 countries by Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks, and her widely praised novels are frequently compared to Big Little Lies.
Her new book, The Off Season, is set on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay, where headstrong thirteen-year-old Savannah bursts into the local police department, insisting her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid Bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death but a decades-old cold case.
For fans of Lisa Jewell and Liane Moriarty. Published in 12 countries by Simon & Schuster and Sourcebooks, Kelly's widely praised novels are frequently compared to BIG LITTLE LIES.
THE OFF SEASON explodes on the tranquil shores of the Chesapeake Bay. A headstrong thirteen-year-old girl insists her mother’s drowning was anything but an accident. She’s forced to tangle with the languid bay police department as well as the year-rounder adults and teens who might be complicit not just in her mother’s death, but a decades-old cold case. With echoes of GONE GIRL and STAND BY ME, it’s part crime, part…
