Review: The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen

 

The Spy Coast (The Martini Club #1) by Tess Gerritsen

Publication Date: March 18th 2025 by Thomas & Mercer and Brilliance Audio

Pages: 363

Audio Book Length: 8hrs 59min

Narrators: Hillary Huber 

Source: Publisher & Purchased Audio (Kindle Unlimited)

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Maggie and her former CIA friends, Declan, Ben, Ingrid and Lloyd assist police chief, Jo Thibadeau in her search for a missing girl.

 

Susan, her teenage daughter, Zoe, and her husband Ethan are gathering at his family’s summer cottage in Maine for the memorial of Ethan’s dad. Susan isn’t very comfortable with Ethan’s wealthy family, but she’ll put on a brave face for her husband. However, shortly after their arrival, Zoe doesn’t come home after spending the day with a local girl.

 

The police zero in on Luther, Maggie’s neighbor and friend, as the prime suspect.  

 

I loved The Spy Coast and so I was eager to dive into The Summer Guests. Maggie and the gang dive right in to help find Zoe and clear Luther’s name. In the last book Jo wasn’t too thrilled when The Martini Club (Maggie & friends) horned in on her investigation, but she’s more accepting of their help in this case. I was happy to see them on the same side and Jo slowly becoming one of the gang.

 

There were several red herrings that kept me on my toes! I was so worried about Zoe and whether she’d be found and felt Susan’s rising panic as the days went by! Ethan’s family was something else!

 

I alternately read and listened to the story, and I recommend either version. The audio version was a treat as Hillary Huber, one of my favorite narrators performs, enhancing the story, and bringing the characters to life!

4 Stars

Book Description:

From New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen comes a chilling follow-up to The Spy Coast, plunging the Martini Club into the search for a missing teen—with a startling connection to their own pasts.

When former spy Maggie Bird retired to the seaside hamlet of Purity, Maine, she settled in for a quiet life with breathtaking views. But enemies from her past soon threatened to destroy everything.

Maggie survived, thanks to her wits and the collective intelligence of the Martini Club, the circle of ex-CIA friends in her cocktail-sipping book club. Their handiwork, however, caught the attention of young police chief Jo Thibodeau. Now Jo and her neighborhood ex-spies have an uneasy alliance.

After a teenager vanishes—and Maggie’s neighbor becomes the prime suspect—she joins the investigation, determined to prove her friend’s innocence. But the girl’s wealthy family pushes for an arrest. And when authorities discover a long-dead corpse in a nearby pond, the case becomes doubly complicated, with unthinkable ties to long-buried secrets.

As Jo grapples with two unexplained mysteries, the Martini Club races to uncover the truth behind shadowy secrets…before more lives are lost.

Sunday Post #288

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. I'm also linking up to The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance @Readerbuzz.

I'm back from Montana! Travel delays on the way there made it so we didn't get in until 2:30 am. However, we had a great time with my daughter, SIL, grandkids and another family with kids. We went played games and went skiing. Unfortunately, I caught a virus and I'm now sick. Congested, achy and I just don't feel good. 

I didn't take hardly any pictures. It seems like we were busy and on the go so much I didn't think about it. I also didn't get much reading or blogging in. 

The cats were so happy when we came home last night.  They were meowing and running around. We have a house sitter, but I'm sure she doesn't dote on them like we do. Didn't get to bed until midnight. 

Starla

The weather is nice this weekend. It was high 50s today and we get high 60s tomorrow. I was going to plant a bunch of seeds outdoors today, but didn't feel good. My husband says he'll do it with me tomorrow. I can just sit and point, haha! 

I snapped a bunch of pictures while walking the property when I should've been resting. Blooming daffodils, primrose and cyclamen. I love spring flowers!

Daffodils we planted this last fall

Camellias

Primrose

More primrose and cyclamen

Read:

The Summer Guests (The Martini Club #2) by Tess Gerritsen-4 Stars

Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley-2.5 Stars

The Body in the Library (Miss Marple #2) by Agatha Christie-3.5 Stars

Received:

I came home to a bunch of book mail (the best mail)!

The Seven O'Clock Club by Amelia Ireland

Our Last Wild Days by Anna Bailey

A Proposal to Die For by Molly Harper

The Geographer's Map to Romance by India Holton

Swept Away by Beth O'Leary

The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo

The Eights by Joanna Miller

Thank you to Berkley, Atria Books, G.P. Putnam's Sons, Harper Audio and Knopf Canada!

Instagram:

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How was your week?

Sunday Post #287

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. I'm also linking up to The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance @Readerbuzz.

Not an eventful week. Just the usual and it snowed for three days. Our first for the season, which is kind of late in the year. I made sure to get my runs/walks in before the rain and snow started, so Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Most of it melted today. Smokey and Starla still went out and played! They romped around in the snow and then would rush back in. It was pretty cute. Peanut was content to watch their antics from the window while staying inside, warm and dry, haha.

The shoulder I injured a couple of years ago has been sore from working. I also managed to twist my neck on the same side. I'm giving both a rest as I'm not working much the next couple of weeks. 

We'll be leaving for Montana on Monday. I should be packing!

I worked another puzzle while listening to audiobooks:

Paper Boys by Charles Wysocki

Read:

(Click on cover to take you to Goodreads link)

The Underdog and Other Stories (Hercule Poirot #31) by Agatha Christie-4 Stars

All the Other Mothers Hate Me by Sarah Harman-3 Stars

Kills Well With Others (Killers of a Certain Age #2) by Deanna Raybourn 4.5 Stars

Loved revisiting Agatha Christie. Poirot uses his "little grey cells" to solve each of the cases. As usual, Poirot's little eccentricities and large ego (well earned) infuse the stories with humor! Kills Well With Others was a delight!

Received:

Thank you to Atria Books!

Instagram:

I won the first two books of The Edge series by Ilona Andrews from Anne @Books of My Heart! Thank you Anne! 

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How was your week?

Review: Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn

 

Kills Well With Others (Killers of a Certain Age #2) by Deanna Raybourn

Publication Date: March 4th 2025 by Berkley

Pages: 368

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

After the events of the last book, Billie, Mary Alice, Helen and Natalie, our beloved sixty+ year-old deadly assassins, have been living a low-key life for the last year, until they get a call from The Museum’s director, Naomi. It seems some of their past files have been leaked and one operative has been murdered. Naomi tasks them with eliminating the threat while they also deal with a possible mole within.

 

The files leaked paints targets on their backs so they must hunt down the killer lest they be picked off one by one. Their mission takes them on a wild adventure across the globe, crossing the Atlantic to the UK and then all over Europe. It was a fun and exciting ride!

 

Billie narrates the story in the present and in the past, giving glimpses of the targets and missions in the past that may be part of the threat.

I love the idea of women still being vibrant and deadly in their 60s and these ladies are badass! They’re each other’s ride-or-die, but that didn’t stop some good-natured squabbling, and the banter cracked me up! Their disguises on the train were hilarious! Nula the chicken was priceless and stole the show! Not sure if we’ll get another mystery with these gals, but I’m so there if we do!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Four women assassins, senior in status—and in age—sharpen their knives for another bloody good adventure in this riotous follow-up to the New York Times bestselling sensation Killers of a Certain Age.

After more than a year of laying low, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are called back into action. They have enjoyed their rest, but the lack of excitement is starting to a professional killer can only take so many watercolor classes and yoga sessions before she gets the itch to get back in the game. When they receive a call from Naomi Ndiaye, the head of the elite assassin organization known as the Museum, they are ready tackle the greatest challenge of their careers.

Someone on the inside has compiled a list of important kills committed by Museum agents, all of them connected to a single, shadowy figure, an Eastern European gangster who rules her business empire with an iron fist and plays puppet master in international affairs. Naomi is convinced this criminal queen is bent upon revenge, killing off the agents who attempted to thwart her, and the aging quartet of killers is next.

Together the foursome embark on a wild ride across the globe on the double mission of rooting out the Museum’s mole and hunting down the gangster and her assassin. But their nemesis is unlike any they’ve faced before, and it will take all their experience and a whole lot of luck to get out of this mission alive.

Review: Dead Man's List by Karen Rose

 

Dead Man's List (San Diego Case Files #3) by Karen Rose

Publication Date: March 4th 2025 by Berkley

Pages: 472

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Detective Kit McKittrick and Sam’s hiking date ends abruptly when they stumble upon a dead body. The victim ends up being a corrupt councilman and there’s no shortage of suspects. As his deeds are revealed it’s no wonder someone took him out! Sam, as the police department’s consulting psychologist helps Kit and Connor as they methodically hunt for the killer.

 

Meanwhile, Rita, one of the girls the McKittrick’s are fostering, is set to testify against her mother’s murderer.  She receives a veiled threat, putting the whole family on high alert.

 

Dead Man’s List was a layered mystery that captured and held my attention from beginning to the wild end! Lots of reveals! I loved seeing Kit, Sam and Connor in action, handling the suspects. It was a great crime/police procedural! The personal relationships with family and friends’ factor in heavily and I loved the support they gave each other. The ladies from the senior center always make me laugh, too!

 

Most of Ms. Rose’s romantic suspense stories could be read as standalones, but Dead Man’s List is the third book in the San Diego Case Files, and I think it’s best to read in order as the relationship between Kit and Sam is a slow going one starting with the first book. There’s also the continuing mystery of who killed Kit’s foster sister when they were teenagers. A bit of information has been revealed in each installment.

4 Stars

Book Description:

Homicide Detective Kit McKittrick's latest case exposes San Diego’s seedy underbelly in this nerve-shattering tale of romantic suspense from New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose.

On a long-anticipated second date with police psychologist Dr. Sam Reeves—right as things are getting steamy—Kit stumbles across the mutilated body of a local San Diego politician. The politician is loved by many of his constituents but is hated and reviled by many more. That the suspect list is long is no surprise to anyone, but exactly who ends up on it stuns Kit and her team.

As the SDPD reveal the victim’s sinister dealings, Kit and Sam are forced to navigate the lawless world of the city’s most rich and powerful citizens to find answers. But time is rapidly running out, with their sources of information dropping like flies as the killer methodically eliminates loose ends—and anyone else who stands in the way.

About the Author

Karen Rose is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including the bestselling New Orleans, Sacramento, Baltimore, and Cincinnati series. She has been translated into twenty-three languages, and her books have placed on the New York Times, the Sunday Times (UK), and Germany's der Spiegel bestseller lists. 

Sunday Post #286

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. I'm also linking up to The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance @Readerbuzz.

I'm in Southern California right now. We flew down and stayed with our son on Friday in the Northern Los Angeles County area to his new (to him) house. It's a nice place and the property is beautiful with lots of roses and fruit trees. Whoever laid out the garden and outdoor space did a wonderful job! We left this morning (Saturday) and traveled down to Orange County to attend a work dinner for my husband. We're flying out for home tomorrow morning.

Puzzles done while listening to audiobooks:

1000 Piece Puzzle: Twilight Sentinel by Charles Wysocki

I hunted this puzzle (I Love Canada by White Mountain) down on eBay after seeing it on Susan's blog. It was a of fun to put together!

Wild daffodils from the yard

Tree fern on my run/walk

Read:

Click on cover for Goodreads link:

Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez-5 Stars

Dead Man's List by Karen Rose-4.5 Stars

Blood Moon by Sandra Brown-4 Stars

Lost and Lassoed by Lila Sage-3 Stars

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister-4 Stars

I had a good reading week. I'm behind on writing reviews, though. 

Received:

Thank you to Berkley, G.P. Putnam's Sons, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books!

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Audiobook Review: Blood Moon by Sandra Brown

 

Blood Moon by Sandra Brown

Publication Date: March 4th 2025 by Grand Central Publishing

Pages: 448

Audio Book Length: 12hrs 15 mins

Narrators: Kyf Brewer

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Crisis Point, a popular true crime TV show is about to air an episode on the case of Crissy Mellin, a girl who went missing three years earlier and was never found. Beth Collins, a producer for the show, thinks Crissy is only one of several women taken and that the perpetrator is motivated by the Blood Moon, which is set to reappear in four days. Beth flies to Louisianna to meet with John Bowie, one of the detectives on the case, and see if she can prevent the next abduction.

 

John isn’t too thrilled with Beth at first, but he’s been haunted by Crissy’s case and the incidents that happened around it. With the spotlight on the case again, John’s corrupt boss warns him to keep his mouth shut on the matter, but John doesn’t want another girl to suffer the same fate and so he reluctantly works with Beth. There’s an attraction brewing between them from the start!

 

I’ve enjoyed Sandra Brown’s twisty mysteries for some time now, so I was excited to pick up Blood Moon. Romance and suspense combined in just the right amounts to make for a thrilling read! Fast-paced, short chapters hooked me from the start! Both Beth and John had to work against their respective bosses. Beth is trying to put the brakes on the show airing because of the discrepancies they discover, but John’s boss and henchmen held more of an urgent threat! I listened, riveted until the end!

 

Kyf Brewer did an excellent job narrating the story! His rough, masculine voice was perfect for John and I liked his performance of Beth’s voice, as well! His narration definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the story!

4 Stars

Book Description:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown returns with a sexy thriller where an unruly detective and an ­­­­ambitious tv show producer work against the clock to prevent another young woman from disappearing before the next blood moon—while trying to resist the attraction between them.

Detective John Bowie is one misstep away from being fired from the Auclair Police Department in coastal Louisiana. Recently divorced and slightly heavy-handed with his liquor, Bowie does all that he can to cope with the actions taken (or not taken) during the investigation of Crissy Mellin, a teenage girl who disappeared more than three years prior. But now, Crisis Point, a long-running true crime television series, is soon to air an episode documenting the unsolved Mellin case. Bowie has been instructed by his unscrupulous boss to keep to himself his grievances and criticisms over the mishandling of the investigation.

Beth Collins, a senior producer on Crisis Point, knows what classifies as a great story and when there’s something more to be told. After working on the show for seven years researching, fact checking, and editing dozens of episodes, Collins is convinced that Crissy Mellin’s disappearance was not an isolated incident. A string of disappearances of teenage girls in nearby areas have only one thing in common: They took place on the night of a blood moon. In a last-ditch effort to find out the truth, Beth leaves New York City for Louisiana to enlist Detective Bowie in helping her figure out what happened to Crissy and find the true culprit before he acts on the next blood moon—in four days’ time.

At the risk of their jobs and lives, Bowie and Collins band together to identify and capture a canny perpetrator, while fighting an irresistible spark between them that threatens to upend everything.