Another solid mystery from Gardner
923087
This is the eighth of the D.D. Warren mysteries, and it's a good one.

Flora Dane was kidnapped and held for over a year before she was rescued and her kidnapper killed. She's a survivor--but she's never really moved past it. Things happened during that year that she's never told anyone, and as a result she has a mission she's never shared with anyone, either. And one night in Boston, she goes out to a bar, and winds up killing the hunky bartender who tried to kidnap her.
D.D. Warren is the Boston P.D. detective who responds to the scene. One the one hand, they find evidence that this may not have been Devon Crawford's first kidnapping. On the other hand, Dane's responses and affect strike her as Not Right in ways that can't be pinned down precisely.

It's the start of a wild and confusing hunt. As she works her way through the very tangled evidence, D.D. is dealing with Dane, her mother, their victim advocates, and the family of another young woman, Stacy Summers, who was kidnapped three months ago. In the Summers case, video that shows the form but not the face of her kidnapper is still the only evidence they have.

They can tie Crawford to two missing women and, with less certainty, Stacy Summers. Crawford is dead, now, though, so what explains another kidnapping seemingly tied to him? We follow D.D.'s investigation, and Flora's recounting of her own kidnapping, starting with waking up in a coffin-shaped box. Flora's is a harrowing story, and her story and D.D.'s investigation slowly converge on the culprit and the answer from opposite directions.

It is, as always, tightly plotted, with fairly strong characterization.

And yet.

D.D. takes the time to describe what she says is a "traditional Boston triple decker." Unfortunately, she describes it as a three-story home with common rooms on the first floor, and private rooms (bedrooms, etc.) on the second and third floors. In short, a large, single-family home.

No. Just no.

A traditional Boston triple decker is a three-story home, three apartments stacked one on top of the other. Each apartment occupies an entire floor. Common rooms are in the front of the house; bedrooms typically in the back. Each apartment has two porches--one at the front, one at the back.

The triple deckers were Boston's civilized answer to tenement housing, and generations of working class and immigrant families became homeowners by buying triple decker and renting out the other two units.

I whimpered with pain at hearing the triple deckers I and so many others grew up hin described in a way that had nothing to do with them.

Despite my petty personal complaint on that point, this is a good book and an excellent read.

Recommended.

I bought this audiobook.
4472554
In Lea Wait's 6th "Shadows" mystery, the shadows are accompanied by a hurricane, murders, and a wedding. This is a solid mystery in a new setting, and you'll keep reading to the end.

As usual in Wait's "Shadows" mysteries, each chapter begins with information on an antique print that has some bearing on the plot. This is another good dimension to the story.

The town of Winslow is the  home of an unusual assortment of natives, including a deaf woman, and a young woman with a link to another character. Gussie, Maggie's friend and the bride, is now wheelchair-bound because of Post-Polio Syndrome. She's also moving into a new house and antique shop, with Maggie's help. And the storm is coming. The action moves right along. On Maggie's first beach walk, she finds a body. The man's past life comes into the plot. Why didn't the sheriff like him? People are in danger from someone, including Maggie. Has she learned too much?

Will Brower, Maggie's love, is down from Maine for the wedding. Maggie is so wrapped up solving the mysteries that Will almost takes second place for awhile. And there's the issue of Maggie's desire to adopt children, which Will is against. But we'll have to wait for the 7th "Shadows" mystery to find out the answer to this impasse.
1413787
This is another good mystery story by Erle Stanley Gardner. I especially like his Perry Mason series.  I like to try to figure out who 'dunnit' before I get to the end of the book. I failed this time. There was one thing that Perry Mason does that was not entirely ethical, which surprised me. Alto the series was written years ago you would not realize it, except for the mention of the rotary phone and the manual typewriter!  I will read it again at some later date. I liked it that well.
1359822
I always enjoy Gideon Oliver mysteries. The puzzles are always cleverly constructed and full of intriguing details. They also benefit from a nice touch of humor. "Twenty Blue Devils" is no exception. The mystery revolves around a family-run coffee business in Tahiti. Gideon has to figure out the meaning of some curious details on corpses and skeletons to prove that a murder has actually been committed, and then to figure out who's guilty of what. Followers of the Gideon Oliver series will remember that Gideon started as a bachelor, and his sidekick was John Lau, friend and local FBI agent. Then Gideon met and married Julie, and she has increasingly generally become the principal sidekick. John's role has diminished accordingly. This isn't a problem. Julie is a satisfactory character. Sometimes you might miss John, though. I did, anyway. In "Twenty Blue Devils" John makes a nice comeback. It is his family that owns the coffee business, and it is through him that Gideon gets involved in the case. Altogether, this is one of those books that keeps you turning the pages to see what happens next. I always hesitate to give mysteries a five-star rating. In my opinion, few can match Christie and Doyle for plot and characterization. They are my standard. Among current writers, however, Elkins is one of my favorites. And "Twenty Blue Devils" is one of his better tales. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
1538
This was a fun read. The mystery was solid--there were lots of good clues for misdirection.
While larger troubles offered hints at the arc of the series, they didn't slow down the pace of this story.
Didn't get to see Diana & Alec from Fire, but Gia got to be more fleshed out, and lots of good hints that Serin will have one heck of a story once it's her turn.
I would have liked to see more of Connell & Logan figuring out how they work together, but this was a fun read, good characters, steady pace, strong plot. Have to give it 5 for enjoyability.
1656755
I really enjoy Lisa Gardner's books---they always keep me totally entwined in the story and characters. And this book was no exception. It's a tale of "who done it"---the husband, someone from her past, the neighbor down the street, a lover------we just never know until the twists are all untwisted. There are plenty of surprises to keep you guessing. Why is the husband being so quiet about his past. Who is this man?  Who is Sandra? And then there are others to concern yourself about----just goes on and on.
I loved it. But be aware-----you won't get much else done until you have unraveled every mystery and twist.
Enjoy.
2256821
Ive read all of the Perry Mason mysteries by Gardner.  Im so excited to have found that there are audio books.  The narrator was very good.
2785946
A solid mystery with plenty of twists to keep the reader guessing.
The crime is witnessed by a police officer and caught partially on video
tape, but initially nobody is quite sure what has happened or who the
victim is.

In true police procedural style, methodically following each small clue
from insight to insight, the case opens up to encompass a much larger and
surprising conspiracy.  It also demonstrates the simple choices of regular
people can lead to complex results.

The B plot involves the protagonists recent transfer and subsequent
blending issues with his new team.  As he deals with the inherent mistrust
among his new colleagues as the try to get along, he finds himself calling
on his past friends for help.  It shows how prejudging others can really
screw things up; especially since history has taught us we are rarely
correct in our assessments.  As a sometimes reader of this series, I did
find the B plot a little hard to follow because I am not up to date with
the multi-book character development.

A good mystery best served when read in series with the other books by this
author.

Sent for a review.
2514528
I am addicted to Grisham's and Gardner's books. Cannot wait until a new one comes out. Living in northern Virginia I liked her stories about our area a little better. But, D.D. Warren comes to life as a normal detective person getting caught up in solving gruesome crimes. In this case she must deal with painful injuries she suffered early on. Also, Ms. Gardner has a great web site for beginners thinking about getting into the trade. First class.
2281632
Charlaine Harris is an interesting mystery writer, in part because she is willing to take chances in her books.  In Roe's last outing, A Fool and His Honey, an abrupt death near the end of the book brings the reader up short.  We are not used to having sympathetic, continuing characters die in mystery fiction.
But, of course, life is like that.
In this outing, the mystery situation is pretty farfetched, but Harris makes it enjoyable, by bringing us along as Roe Teagarden re-enters her life following the death of her beloved husband.
A fast, fun read, but not the best of the series.  Still--worth your time.
4688193
Another great story from Ashley Gardner. The mystery and Captain's Lacey's personal relationships get equal play, which I enjoy.
565268
Elizabeth George is one of my favorite mystery novelists, and it may be that as a result I'm being rather more generous than I might be-- I certainly think that _A Traitor to Memory_ is the weakest of her work to date, but that's not so terrible given how uniformly strong her work generally is.
This mystery, which begins with a strange hit and run killing, takes us through the mind (and journal) of a violin prodigy, into the history of some of the familiar characters, and explores the idea of children and the past.
Strong points: complex and well-realized characters, generally high quality of the writing
Weak points: confusing time flipping and lame ending
I, at least, enjoyed the read despite the flaws.
234792
Last published book of the series.  Almost done with it and am truly enjoying it.  I hope Gardner uses these characters again because I've come to really like them all.
3096068
As a fan of Bob Avey's first book, Twisted Perception, I know I can always count on him for a few things -- a tight well-constructed plot, complex believable characters, and an interesting mystery that plays fair with the reader.  Beneath a Buried House doesn't disappoint.  Police detective Kenny Elliot is back, and he's got a lot on his hands, both professionally and romantically.  Avey does a great job of balancing his protagonist's personal life with his casework.  I was especially impressed with Avey's ability to create a layered universe of characters -- suspects and otherwise -- that kept me guessing, but didn't confuse me with a boggling list of random bad guys.  If I have a quibble, it's that I would have liked to have seen more nice normal Pagans in the story -- as a practicing Wiccan I know they exist, even in Tulsa -- but on the whole, I thought Avey did an admirable job of not vilifying a group that gets vilified enough already.  I highly recommend Beneath A Buried House -- it's worth a read, as is Twisted Perception.  Go get 'em.  You won't be disappointed.
1572439
Grisham did it again.... another spellbinder...Perry Mason -style.  All of us old enough to remember Gardner's lawyer-detective
will love this one
3377994
A tight story with no hints as to "who done it" that I could discern.  Really good use of language.  Compelling story with a surprise for regular Lisa Gardner fans.  I would recommend this book for anyone who likes a well-told story.
864835
For any fan of the Inspector Rutledge mysteries, this book will satisfy. Detailing Rutledge's last major case before the war, it gives us a view of the man before the horrors of war, before he returned to the Yard a haunted man. The mystery is very absorbing with good plot twists and well drawn characters--- a satisfying mystery story in addition to a glimpse of Rutledge's past.