Review: The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen

 

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

Publication Date: November 1st 2023 by Thomas & Mercer and Brilliance Audio

Pages: 341

Audio Book Length: 10hrs 23min

Narrators: Hillary Huber and Brittany Pressley

Source: Purchased Audio & e-copy (Kindle Unlimited)

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Maggie Bird enjoys her quiet life in Purity, Maine, running her farm, and meeting up with friends. From the life she leads now in her 60s, you’d never know she hasn’t always led the sedate kind of existence, and her past has come crashing into her present when a woman shows up at her door bearing some disturbing news on a past mission.

 

I absolutely enjoyed The Spy Coast! This first installment alternated between events in Maggie’s past and how it spilled into her present. A murder investigation and some attacks have made the local police chief and long-time resident, Jo Thibadeau suspicious about the new-ish residents in town. I have to say, while I thought the events in the past were important for setting up the story and series, I enjoyed the chapters in the present more. I felt so bad for Maggie when all about her past was revealed. While Maggie has settled in and seems contented, I have hopes for a romance in the future! I really liked Jo, the police chief, too! She had a sharp mind, and I can see her making connections and friends with Maggie and her friends! My first read by Tess Gerritsen and now I want more! I can’t wait for the next installment!

 

Hillary Huber and Brittany Pressley narrate, two favorites, which definitely added to my enjoyment!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

A retired CIA operative in small-town Maine tackles the ghosts of her past in this fresh take on the spy thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen.

Former spy Maggie Bird came to the seaside village of Purity, Maine, eager to put the past behind her after a mission went tragically wrong. These days, she’s living quietly on her chicken farm, still wary of blowback from the events that forced her early retirement.

But when a body turns up in Maggie’s driveway, she knows it’s a message from former foes who haven’t forgotten her. Maggie turns to her local circle of old friends—all retirees from the CIA—to help uncover the truth about who is trying to kill her, and why. This “Martini Club” of former spies may be retired, but they still have a few useful skills that they’re eager to use again, if only to spice up their rather sedate new lives.

Complicating their efforts is Purity’s acting police chief, Jo Thibodeau. More accustomed to dealing with rowdy tourists than homicide, Jo is puzzled by Maggie’s reluctance to share information—and by her odd circle of friends, who seem to be a step ahead of her at every turn.

As Jo’s investigation collides with the Martini Club’s maneuvers, Maggie’s hunt for answers will force her to revisit a clandestine career that spanned the globe, from Bangkok to Istanbul, from London to Malta. The ghosts of her past have returned, but with the help of her friends—and the reluctant Jo Thibodeau—Maggie might just be able to save the life she’s built.

Top Ten Tuesday: Planes, Trains & Automobiles/Books Featuring Travel

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Artsy Reader where each week they post a new top ten list and ask fellow bookish folk to share their lists on that topic. 

Hello! I was in Austin, Texas visiting family so I've been a bit MIA. 

I missed Planes, Trains & Automobiles/Books Featuring Travel a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't come up with anything for this weeks topic so here we go:

Automobiles:

(click on covers for Goodreads link)

The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary

This was an angsty second change romance with some laugh-out-loud moments! 

In Honor by Jessi Kirby

I read this back in 2012! Young Adult romance. A road trip taken "in honor" of her brother killed in action.

Off the Map by Trish Doller

Immediate chemistry in this romance and a fun, impulsive road trip!

Trains:

The Sweet Blue Distance by Sara Donati

This was actually travel by train, wagon train, stagecoach and horseback. An epic adventure I won't forget!

Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

This was a fun mystery with a lot of clever humor and a bit of romance.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

A favorite classic! I've read this many times over the years!

Boats:

Float Plan by Trish Doller

Sooo good! Overcoming grief and finding love while navigating the tumultuous sea! It was intense in spots! 

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

A solid, atmospheric mystery.

Going Dark by Monica McCarty

Loved this romantic suspense/thriller series! Most of this one takes place on a boat.

Planes & Cable Car 

Drowning by T.J. Newman

Took place on a plane, but at the bottom of the ocean! Intense and oh-so-good!

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Young Adult romance that takes place mostly on a plane. I read it back in 2011. I think they're making it into a movie?

The Drift by C.J. Tudor

A riveting, atmospheric thriller that was kind of out there! A lot took place in a cable car high off the ground.

Went a little over ten!

Have you read any of these?

Review: The Scenic Route by Katie Ruggle

 

The Scenic Route (Beneath the Wild Sky #1) by Katie Ruggle

Publication Date: July 30th 2024 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★½

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

My Thoughts:

I was excited when I figured out The Scenic Route revisits and continues the bounty hunting Pax sisters’ story from Katie Ruggle’s Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters series! This one centers on Felicity Pax and a PI Bennett Green sent to find the necklace that their mother stole, however they end up chasing after a “skip” that takes them to Simpson, Colorado. This town is well known to Ruggle’s fans as it’s the setting for her Search and Rescue books. The past couples, (Lou and Callum, Ellie and George, Daisy and Chris, Rory and Ian), of that series factor in heavily to the story and it was fun “hanging out” with the old gang again!

 

Felicity and Bennett’s romance was a little insta-lovey but understandable with them thrown together while trying to find and apprehend her bail jumper.

 

The Scenic Route was fun with silly hijinks! I’d say this was more of an action romance than a mystery. I look forward to Nora’s story next!

3.5 Stars

Book Description:

Why date a mountain man? Because climbing him will leave you breathless.

Felicity Pax loves her job. She craves excitement, and being a bounty hunter gives her that in spades. So when her estranged mother disappears with a small fortune in tow, Felicity chases her like she would any other skip. Too bad she didn't barter on having increasingly infuriating (and infuriatingly hot) PI Bennett Green on her tail.

Bennett's got a job to do, and if that means shadowing Felicity…well…he's had worse assignments. Even if he's 99% sure the increasingly intriguing bounty hunter is leading him on a wild goose chase through the Rockies.

If she has to drag her PI tail through endless quirky mountain towns in order to shake him, that's what she's determined to do…but it isn't long before Felicity's intended distraction turns up a mystery worth solving—and Bennett becomes the unexpected partner she never realized she needed. As things heat up, Felicity will have to decide what's most important to staying one step ahead of the "enemy" or giving herself freedom to experience the adventure of a lifetime.

The Rocky Mountains get unBEARably hot in Katie Ruggle's brand-new series packed with adventure, action, tall dark & scruffy heroes, and a sense of quirky humor that will be your next perfect escape.

Sunday Post #261

 

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.

The weather this week has cooled down and it's been gorgeous! Highs in the 80s. I feel hints of fall in the air, especially at night. There's one tree in the front that changes colors first and I already see a few red leaves. It's because it's been dipping into the 50s at night. I think my garden was a bit stunned when we had the 100+ degree weather. My tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers are finally starting to produce. I did plant a little late. We picked a bunch of apples from one of our trees and I made and canned apple butter.

Apples of unknown variety from our yard

Deadheaded some of my hydrangeas, but I thought they were too pretty to throw away just yet.

We drove out to Truckee (Lake Tahoe area), which is about an hour from our house. We explored some shops, bought gifts for the grandkids, had a late lunch and drove home. The views along Hwy 20 on the way home were spectacular! It was nice an enjoyable day!

Word After Word Books in downtown Truckee. Such a cute bookstore!

Bar of America, downtown Truckee

Hwy 20 scenic view on the way home.

Read:

Four Minutes by Brian Andrews & Jeffrey Wilson: 4 Stars

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager: 4 Stars

Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca: 4 Stars

Buried Too Deep by Karen Rose: 4 Stars

Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight: 3 Stars

A pretty solid reading week. I really enjoyed Four Minutes, a sci-fi military thriller with a bit of time travel thrown in. I need the next book! 

Received/Purchased:

I'm thrilled to get approval for Cold as Hell! I may read it soon even though it doesn't release until February 2025. We'll Prescribe You a Cat sounds like a moving story, and prescribing a cat always sounds like a good idea, lol! I read and LOVED On the Jellicoe Road years ago (2011). I read the physical copy back then, purchased an e-copy, but my daughter asked about it the other day and she loves audios like me so we bought an audio copy. I might start it tonight. 

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Berkley!

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Review: Buried Too Deep by Karen Rose

 

Buried Too Deep (New Orleans #3) by Karen Rose

Publication Date: August 13th 2024 by Berkley

Pages: 517

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Phin has just returned to his job at Broussard Investigations after the last case brought out his PTSD enough that he had to escape to a safe haven and decompress. Unfortunately, his first day back is dramatic with a shooting at the office that leaves one of the members gravely injured. Phin witnesses Cora, the librarian seeking Broussard Investigations’ assistance, fleeing the scene and is eager to find out why.

 

Cora has just discovered her father didn’t leave them like she thought he did but was murdered twenty-three years earlier. Who’s been writing the letters supposedly penned by her father then? She’s seeking help from Broussard’s when she’s ambushed.

 

I was eager to find out why someone was targeting Cora now. I enjoyed seeing Phin and his cute service dog, Soda Pop, help with the investigation. They scour the attic of the family’s historic home (sounded wonderful!) for clues about her father and what he was up to.  Phin felt bad about his setbacks triggered by the events of the past book, but his help was invaluable to Broussard’s team and to Cora. The attraction between Cora and Phin was quick, but understandable since things were amplified by the intense situation Phin and Cora were thrown into.

 

Buried Too Deep captured my attention right away, as most Karen Rose’s mysteries do! The identity of one of the bad guys was known, pretty much from the start, but there was another involved that I had to puzzle over. I raced through the pages quickly! Definite recommend for fans of high action romantic suspense/crime procedurals!  

4 Stars

Book Description:

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Rose comes another explosive novel in the New Orleans series, where some secrets are worth dying for—or killing to keep.

Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead.

Employed as the nighttime security guard of Broussard Private Investigations, Phineas Bishop has been working through overwhelming PTSD episodes from his Army service while still utilizing his military skills. But when a violent break-in occurs at the office, the accusatory eyes of the NOPD glance to Phin, and he resolves to track down the intruder and clear his name.

Phin’s only lead and witness is Cora Winslow, a spirited librarian who also needs answers. Her father’s body has been discovered under a recently demolished building, murdered twenty-three years ago. So, who has been sending her the handwritten letters—written and signed by him—every year since she was five? Someone wants to keep Cora in the dark. And now, they’re coming for her.

As Cora’s bodyguard, Phin is surprised by his fondness for the woman’s fierce determination and research prowess. But New Orleans’s Garden District holds secrets as old as the streets themselves. With help from the entire Broussard P.I. team, Phin and Cora enter a labyrinth of fraud and homicide that threatens to bury them all.

About the Author

Karen Rose is the award-winning, #1 international bestselling author of more than 25 novels, including the bestselling 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.

Review: 15 Summers Later by RaeAnne Thayne

 

15 Summers Later by RaeAnne Thayne

Publication Date: June 18th 2024 by Canary Street Press

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

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

My Thoughts:

Ava and Madison survived and escaped a cult/prepper group when they were teenagers. Both have moved on, but Ava’s book detailing the experience brings unwelcome attention and Madison is furious. Why would Ava write this book? Ava’s not comfortable with sharing the past either, so I wasn’t sure why she wrote the book, but all is revealed as the story goes on.

 

Madison sustained lasting physical damage but has worked hard to overcome her trauma. I loved that her main focus in life was helping animals by running a rescue shelter.  Ava’s book has become a national best seller, but she’s put her book tour off because her marriage is in trouble. She needs time back home to lick her wounds and figure out what to do next.

 

The sisters really had a traumatic experience, and it was lucky they had each other to help them get through it and survive the escape! My heart went out to them, and I was enraged over how they came to be in the situation in the first place!

 

15 Summers Later was part romance, with Madison finding love and Ava sorting out her marriage-in-crisis, and part women’s fiction with the sisters reconciling the past and mending their relationship. I adored every minute!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

15 summers ago, everything changed…

Ava Howell seemed to have it all. She moved away from Emerald Creek, Idaho, married the love of her life and published a bestselling memoir. But she never expected that her husband would feel so betrayed by a secret from her past—the truth of what happened to her and her sister all those years ago—that he’d walk away. Now Ava is back home and trying to move on with the only person who can truly understand…

Following years of healing, Madison Howell is finally happy. After college she built a no-kill shelter where she works with animals every day, and she’s in love with the town veterinarian, Dr. Luke Gentry. But she can’t ever bring herself to tell him. Years ago, his dad died protecting Madi and her sister, so how could he ever love her back?

With the truth laid bare, and the past that Ava and Madison have worked so hard to leave behind threatening everything they have built for themselves, the Howell sisters’ reunion is bittersweet. And as Ava and Madi attempt to remedy the rifts in their lives and reconcile their futures, they must face the demons of their past together.

Review: Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca

 

Haunted Ever After (Boneyard Key #1) by Jen Deluca

Publication Date: August 13th  2024 by Berkley & Penguin Audio

Pages: 352

Audio Book Length: 10hrs 51min

Narrators: Jeannie Sheneman

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★

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

My Thoughts:

Cassie moves to Bonyard Key, Florida after her search for an affordable house in Orlando doesn’t work out. Also, she now feels like an outsider to her original friend group when they’ve moved onto marriage and kids while she remains single. It quickly becomes apparent that the ghost hauntings the town is famous for are real, and one of those ghosts seems to inhabit her cute, historic cottage. She’s freaked out, but with the help of Nick, the town’s coffee shop owner, Cassie starts to get used to the idea. It becomes clear that her ghost has a few things to clear up.

 

Nick is used to the ghosts in Boneyard Key, after all he’s a descendant of the “Founding Fifteen” the group of families that originally settled there. Nick has an affinity with ghosts and so he helps introduce Cassie to the oddities of the town and show her some of the wonderful things about living there.

 

I enjoyed this romance with a side of paranormal mystery! It was easy to figure out most of what was going on and I did wonder at how Cassie and Nick didn’t sooner, but I had fun “exploring” the town, getting its history as they sorted things out. Cassie and Nick had some relationship hangups they had to get over on their way to a HEA. It was a low romance drama read that I thoroughly enjoyed!

 

I alternately read and listened to an audio copy of Haunted Ever After and can recommend either version. Jeannie Sheneman did a wonderful job with all voices, male and female, brining each character to life. I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed. 

4 Stars

Book Description:

It's love at first haunting in a seaside town that raises everyone’s spirits from USA Today bestselling author Jen DeLuca.

Small Florida coastal towns often find themselves scrambling for the tourism dollars that the Orlando theme parks leave behind. And within the town limits of Boneyard Key, the residents decided long ago to lean into its ghostliness. Nick Royer, owner of the Hallowed Grounds coffee shop, embraces the ghost tourism that keeps the local economy afloat, as well as his spectral roommate. At least he doesn’t have to run air-conditioning.

Cassie Rutherford possibly overreacted to all her friends getting married and having kids by leaving Orlando and buying a flipped historic cottage in Boneyard Key. Though there’s something unusual with her new home (her laptop won’t charge in any outlets, and the poetry magnets on her fridge definitely didn’t read “WRONG” and “MY HOUSE” when she put them up), she’s charmed by the colorful history surrounding her. And she's catching a certain vibe from the grumpy coffee shop owner whenever he slips her a free slice of banana bread along with her coffee order.

As Nick takes her on a ghost tour, sharing town gossip that tourists don't get to hear, and they spend nights side-by-side looking into the former owners of her haunted cottage, their connection solidifies into something very real and enticing. But Cassie's worried she’s in too deep with this whole (haunted) home ownership thing… and Nick's afraid to get too close in case Cassie gets scared away for good.

About the Author

Jen DeLuca was born and raised near Richmond, Virginia, but now lives in Arizona with her husband and a houseful of rescue pets. She loves latte-flavored lattes, Hokies football, and the Oxford comma. Her novels, Well Met, Well Played, Well Matched, and Well Traveled were inspired by her time volunteering as a pub wench with her local Renaissance Faire.

Sunday Post #260

 

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.

We've been down in Southern California visiting and helping our son and DIL with their 19 month old and newborn. We're on our way home to Northern California right now. It was nice to see the little ones and visit with everyone. We took our 19 month old grandson to the park and then to lunch to keep him occupied. He's happy as long as he has activity, lol! They're very busy at that age. 

We met a woman from France who brought her six year-old daughter to play at the park. She was speaking French with her and so we started up a conversation after I asked her about it. We had fun talking about all the places we visited (Loire Valley, Burgundy, Lyon, Bordeaux, Paris) and the places she's enjoyed visiting in California. She and her husband moved to California for her husband's work and she loves it here. There are things I don't like about California, (cost of living and wildfire dangers) but I'd miss being relatively close to the ocean and mountains. 

Peanut loves laying on the porch in the heat!

My zinnias starting to bloom! I planted them from seed, along 300ft of fence.

Read:

Agony Hill (Franklin Warren #1) by Sarah Stewart Taylor: 4.5 Stars

The Scenic Route (Beneath the Wild Sky #1) by Katie Ruggle: 3.5 Stars

Twelve Secrets (Ben Harper #1) by Robert Gold: 3 Stars

Received:

I realized I didn't list this back in January (yep, I'm behind) when I received it, but I'm listening to it now and it's good! Thank you to Blackstone Publishing!

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Review: Agony Hill by Sarah Stewart Taylor

 

Agony Hill (Franklin Warren #1) by Sarah Steward Taylor

Publication Date: August 6th 2024 by Minotaur Books

Pages: 320

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble |  Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

It’s August of 1965, and Frank Warren has transferred to Bethany, Vermont as a Detective for the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation. After suffering a tragedy, the new position and move is a welcome change for Detective Warren.

 

Right away Warren is called out when a man dies in fire at one of the farms. At first glance, suicide is suspected, but Warren feels there’s might be more. Weber, a back-to-the-land farmer, was not well-liked man. His wife’s reactions to his death isn’t as expected, but from all accounts the Weber family is regarded as a bit odd.

 

Warren is a newcomer, so we’re introduced to the town and inhabitants through his eyes.  But we also get the perspective of Alice Bellows, Warren’s neighbor, a longtime resident and bit of an amateur sleuth, as well.  Alice has her own investigation(s), and I’m intrigued by her mysterious past and how it might play out in future stories. Sylvie Weber (Hugh’s widow) also has a POV. Pieces of the past revealed through her recollections. She’s an interesting character and I hope to see more of her and her children in the coming books.

 

Agony Hill was engrossing from the first page! The characters, time period, and setting of Vermont were vividly portrayed! I felt immersed in the story as Detective Warren pieced together all the facts and got to the truth. I liked seeing the relationships forming between Warren, his junior partner, Pinky, and other townsfolk. One relationship I’m especially interested in even though it’s been put in the “impossible” column for now. I'm eager for the next installment!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Set in rural Vermont in the volatile 1960s, Agony Hill is the first novel in a new historical series full of vivid New England atmosphere and the deeply drawn characters that are Sarah Stewart Taylor's trademark.

In the hot summer of 1965, Bostonian Franklin Warren arrives in Bethany, Vermont, to take a position as a detective with the state police. Warren's new home is on the verge of monumental change; the interstates under construction will bring new people, new opportunities, and new problems to Vermont, and the Cold War and protests against the war in Vietnam have finally reached the dirt roads and rolling pastures of Bethany.

Warren has barely unpacked when he's called up to a remote farm on Agony Hill. Former New Yorker and Back-to-the-Lander Hugh Weber seems to have set fire to his barn and himself, with the door barred from the inside, but things aren’t adding up for Warren. The people of Bethany—from Weber’s enigmatic wife to Warren's neighbor, widow and amateur detective Alice Bellows — clearly have secrets they’d like to keep, but Warren can’t tell if the truth about Weber’s death is one of them. As he gets to know his new home and grapples with the tragedy that brought him there, Warren is drawn to the people and traditions of small town Vermont, even as he finds darkness amidst the beauty.