Best book to read ever!!!

“The Unseen Sister” is the second in Andy Maslen’s three-book (so far) DS Kat Ballantyne series. Set in a fictitious city in England, Kat is an early-forties homicide investigator who not only has to prove herself professionally every day, but also has to deal with all the real-life challenges of marriage, motherhood, health and emotions. The overall story in this volume involves Kat investigating the death of a young women whose body was discovered by Kat’s dog-walking friend. Accidental? Murder? If murder, then who is responsible? Along the way, Kat is pulled in different directions by her relationships with her boss and her well-meaning, but naïve and inexperienced assistant. To further complicate matters her son is a typical young teen-ager, and her husband has just taken on a web-design project for a young, extremely good-looking female entrepreneur whose ideas and methods Kat does not appreciate or trust. What else could go wrong? Just wait, there’s more… plenty more… The audiobook version is expertly narrated by Ell Potter. Her accent, while very British, is easy for an American’s ear to follow, and her voice characterizations of the various characters are “spot on.” Maslen is a prolific author, having published well over 30 novels. All three Kat books have a publication date of 2024, which often signals me that there is bound to be a lower quality in the stories as they are too rushed. That is NOT the case for this series; I have been pleasantly surprised.

Couldn't stop reading!!

The Billy Goats should have asked the troll if they could please cross his bridge and the troll should have been nicer.

I love it so much! It's funny, it has good lessons in it, and it's a book I can read over and over again.

“Bad River” is the sixth and most recent book in Marc Cameron’s Deputy U.S. Marshal Arliss Cutter series. Cutter, his partner Lola Teariki and his sister-in-law Mim, along with a wide variety of supporting characters, are caught up in the investigation of connections between the discovery of a young woman’s body and the death of Cutter’s brother. As with all the Cutter novels, Alaska plays a key role in the story. It’s geography, geology, history and diverse culture are all important elements. In addition to Cameron, authors Sue Henry (Jessie Arnold) and Dana Stabenow (Kate Shugak, Liam Campbell) portray Alaska as a main character of their narratives, complete with its own dynamic personality. My “problem” with “Bad River” is that: 1) it was very hard to put down (i.e., hit Pause) and went by way too quickly (that was a very quick 13 hours), and 2) it will be a long, long year waiting for the next instalment!

“Dark Dive” is the fifth book in Andrew Mayne’s Underwater Investigation Unit series, each featuring Sloan McPherson. In this volume, Sloan and her partner Scott Hughes investigate the mysterious disappearance of fellow diver Fred Stafford. This series always presents a well-told complex mystery, while also providing interesting insights into the history, geography and geology of Florida, as well as the technical aspects of diving. I hope that there is a sixth book in progress! The audio version is expertly narrated by Susannah Jones, whose first-person characterization of Sloan is perfect, along with different voice inflections for each of the other characters. I did detect one itsy, bitsy flaw -- a true Floridian would never say “kontch” fritter; conch is “konk.”

Entertained me for 5 hrs.

I enjoyed the quotes from Louisa May Alcott and Little Women that were scattered throughout the book. I think Frederick did a good job of incorporating Little Women into her plot while keeping her own story line.

“An Unequal Defense” is the second of three books in Chad Zunker’s David Adams series. Adams, a partner in a struggling two-man private practice law firm, is pulled into representing Rebel, a homeless veteran who is part of the Austin, TX community that Adams became involved with in the first book in the series. The book begins with Rebel waking up in an alley, dressed in clothes that are not his, finding a gun in the jacket pocket and accidentally firing it. A dead body lies in the same alley. The victim turns out to be Luke Murphy, a prosecuting attorney and friend to Adams. The ensuing search for the truth leads Adams down several devious paths, involving many interesting characters. This was a great listen, narrated very well by Christopher Ryan Grant. I’m looking forward to the final book, also narrated by Grant.