Killing Trail by Margaret Mizushima

In Killing Trail, a young girl is found dead near Timber Creek, Colorado. Officer Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner, Robo, are assigned to the case. The more she investigates the more secrets she uncovers in this small Colorado town.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even though it's a police procedural, it starts out feeling like a cozy mystery. As the book continues, though, it gets a bit more gritty, but stays pretty tame as far as mysteries and thrillers go. There are plenty of red herrings and twists that kept me guessing until the end.

I especially loved reading about the local veterinarian's work as well as the relationship between Officer Mattie Cobb and Robo. I found all the information about the team fascinating. There was information about their training, the commands they used, and the procedures they followed. I liked that the team was just out of training and new on the force. That way the author could introduce some additional tension as to whether or not the team could do its job. Also, she could explain their team dynamics without sounding like a lecture or training manual. Very cool stuff.

Highly recommended. I think most mystery lovers would enjoy it, but I especially think that cozy lovers, who aren't into gore and are looking for something a little more serious and beefier would probably enjoy this one, too. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.

For more information about this book, please visit the Crooked Lane Books website.

For more information about the author, please visit Margaret Mizushima's website.

Thanks to Sarah from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

Killing Trail by Margaret Mizushima, Crooked Lane Books (The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC), ©2015. ISBN 9781629533810(Hardcover), 311p.

Once Shadows Fall by Robert Daniels

In Once Shadows Fall, Detective Beth Sturgis is heading up her first major manhunt for a potential serial killer. Seeing similarities between this new killing and ones from years ago, Sturgis enlists the help of the retired FBI agent, Jack Kale, who headed up those long ago cases. Kale, now a university professor, is at first reluctant to get involved. Demons from the past still haunt him, but he is soon helping Sturgis on the new case.

I really enjoyed this police procedural, a debut novel from Daniels. There's tons of action, lots of entertaining twists, and some pretty good characters. Once I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down. It turned out to be quite the page turner. Some of the details are a little gruesome, so this one's definitely not for the faint of heart.

I liked both Sturgis and Kale. I think they make a pretty good team. I hope we learn more about them in subsequent books.

One thing that struck me as odd was the lack of urgency towards the end of the book. I don't want to give too much away but I would have thought that with a missing person you'd think there'd be a mad scramble to find them. No holds barred. I just didn't feel that build up in intensity. That's not to say it wasn't a good ending. It just wasn't as intense as it could have been.

This book and its main character, Kale, a retired FBI agent, reminded me a little of John Verdon's books and his character, Dave Gurney. This one isn't quite as good, but it's still a wonderful read.

Recommended. I'd definitely read another work by this author.

For more information about this book, please visit the Crooked Lane Books website.

For more information about the author and his next books, please visit Robert Daniels's website.

Thanks to Sarah from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

Once Shadows Fall by Robert Daniels, Crooked Lane Books (The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC), ©2013. ISBN 9781629533834(Hardcover), 343p.

The 8th Circle by Sarah Cain

In The 8th Circle, Danny Ryan is still grieving over the loss of his wife and son when a friend of his drives his vehicle into a pond after being shot. The pond happens to be in Danny's front yard and Danny immediately becomes a suspect. Both Danny and Michael are (or were) journalists and now Danny suspects that Michael's last story may have gotten him killed. As he investigates to clear his name and get to the truth, Danny realizes that Michael was about to uncover a deep, dark secret that involved some very powerful people, who would do anything to keep that secret under wraps.

While I mostly enjoyed this book, I didn't love it. The story was good with plenty of twists and turns and progressed at a good pace. . I especially liked that just when I thought it was over, the story continued with more twists that I didn't see coming. However, there was something about the writing that bothered me. Also, the story was quite depraved at times and made me cringe more than once.

I thought Danny was a great main character. His life experiences, background, and upbringing definitely shaped him as a journalist. I really enjoyed reading about his experience in his profession as well as his upbringing. I'm not sure why, but there was a slight disconnect for me in his grieving and his now romantic pursuit.

For me, the author used a couple of words a little too often. Rather than unifying the story, they grated on me and seemed repetitive. One of those words was "lost". Lost girls, lost boys, he was lost, they were lost. The other was "ghost". Half a ghost, ghostly, desolate ghosts. Also, for some reason the color green stuck out. I wondered if the author liked green and used it a lot or she hated green and used it to represent evil or vile things. I didn't even really notice it until one of the characters showed up in all green. I thought that was an odd fashion choice even for this guy. Perhaps it was prominent in the story because some of the characters were Irish.

The title, The 8th Circle, was totally lost on me. Apparently, it's a reference to Dante's Inferno and the circles of hell. There is one brief reference to it in the book and many references to the word "inferno", but that wasn't enough to enlighten me. I finally looked it up after finishing the book.

I don't think I'd recommend this book to my friends, but I might pick up the next book the series to see how the series progresses.

For more information about this book, please visit the Crooked Lane Books website.

For more information about the author and to see her blog, please visit Sarah Cain's website.

Thanks to Julia from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

The 8th Circle by Sarah Cain, Crooked Lane Books (The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC), ©2016. ISBN 9781629534855(Advance Uncorrected Proofs), 326p.

Nine Lives: A Lily Dale Mystery by Wendy Corsi Staub

In Nine Lives, Bella Jordan and her son seek refuge in Lily Dale, New York after a storm delays their drive to Chicago. Bella's husband has just died and she needs a change of scenery. As it turns out, Lily Dale isn't just an ordinary small town. It's filled with psychics and mediums. Soon after she arrives, Bella is asked to help out at the local hotel, who's hostess has just died. Murdered, in fact. Even though she's new in town, Bella is determined to find the killer.

This is definitely a cute cozy mystery. The mystery was fun to follow and all of the characters were likeable. A few things felt a little contrived, but all and all I enjoyed it.

I'm not a huge believer in psychics and that sort of thing, but I found that I liked reading about this community and its inhabitants Some weird things definitely happen, but it's only not clear whether or not these happenings are supernatural. Perhaps the author is leaving that up to the reader to decide or maybe answers will be forthcoming in the next installment of the series.

Chance the Cat and her movements were among those unexplained things. She certainly had a knack for getting around. She turned up in the oddest places without a seemingly rational explanation. Max, Bella's son, knowledge about certain events was also left open-ended.

There was lots of talk about psychic readings, but I don't seem to remember one actually taking place within the storyline. Or maybe I just missed it. Anyway, that might have been fun to read about.

Recommended for cozy lovers. I think those who believe in mediums and psychics will enjoy it more than those who don't. Also, if you like cats, that would help, too. I enjoyed reading the book, but I don't know if I liked it enough to seek out the next book in the series. We'll see, I guess.

For more information about this book, please visit the Crooked Lane Books website.

For more information about the author and her other books, please visit Wendy Corsi Staub's website.

Thanks to Sarah from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

Nine Lives: A Lily Dale Mystery by Wendy Corsi Staub, Crooked Lane Books (The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC), ©2015. ISBN 9781629532486(Advance Reader's Edition), 279p.

The Stages by Thom Satterlee

In The Stages, Daniel is an American translator living in Copenhagen and is known as one of the best translators of Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard. When his ex-girlfriend dies and a invaluable manuscript goes missing, Daniel, who has Asperger's syndrome, must break out of his comfort zone to search for the truth.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The blurb at the back of the book mentions that it's reminiscent of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. While I enjoyed that book, I think enjoyed this one more.

The Cast of Characters provided at the beginning of the book lists the characters as well as how to properly pronounce the names. Because of this, I learned a lot about Danish name pronunciations. For example, Søren Kierkegaard is SIR-in KEER-ka-gore. Apparently, the Danes use lots of silent letters and pronounce some letters differently than the English do. As I was reading, I really tried to use the given pronunciations, even though it slowed down my reading.

Two aspects of the book were particularly interesting to me. First, I'd heard of Kierkegaard, but didn't know anything about him. Since it's one of his manuscripts that is missing, the author included a little information about him and his life. Intriguing stuff. Even though this book is a work of fiction, I assume that the information given is factual. Second, Daniel's Asperger's Syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum, is fascinating. I especially loved learning about how he dealt with his job and his personal life.

I think this is the first book I've read in Copenhagen. I don't know anything about the city or the Danes themselves. The details in the book about Danish life were all pretty interesting.

Highly recommended. I'd definitely love to read another book by this author.

For more information about this book, please visit the Crooked Lane Books website.

For more information about the author, please visit Thom Satterlee's website.

Thanks to Sarah from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

The Stages by Thom Satterlee, Crooked Lane Books (The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC), ©2013. ISBN 9781629534190(Advance Uncorrected Proofs), 209p.

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron

In Plantation Shudders, Maggie Crozat returns to her family's plantation in Louisiana after breaking up with her boyfriend in New York. The plantation, now a bed and breakfast, is full of guests. When two guests, an elderly couple, die within minutes of each other, everyone at the B&B comes under suspicion. Maggie must work with the town's new detective, Bo Durand, to find the killer and clear her name, while keeping the business going. As she investigates, she uncovers some interesting and mysterious information about her guests.

I really enjoyed this debut cozy mystery. The story is filled with lots of humour, a little romance, a little spookiness, and a whole lot of fun. I wasn't able to guess the culprit ahead of time, but that didn't really bother me. I certainly enjoyed all of the red herrings that kept me guessing until the reveal.

I really liked Maggie. She wasn't as flighty as some of the other cozy mystery characters I've read about. That was a bonus, for sure. When I found out that she was an artist, I was hoping that her art would figure into the story a little more. Perhaps the author could consider that for a future book in the series.

The other characters had a variety of personalities. Some were easy to like; others, not so much. Each of their backgrounds and possible motives were varied enough to make for an interesting read. I especially loved Maggie's grandmother. She was awesome!

I haven't been to Louisiana, but from what I've read and seen on TV, Byron represents the sights and sounds of Louisiana quite well. I'm sure those familiar with the area will get a kick out of reading about the area.

The book also contains a few recipes that might be fun to try. The one for Crawfish Crozat looks amazing, but there's no way I'm going to find crawfish (or a few of the other ingredients) here on the Canadian Prairies. Maybe one day I'll be able to find some suitable substitutes.

Highly recommended. I'd definitely read another book by this author and am really looking forward to the next book in the series.

For more information about this book, please visit the Crooked Lane Books website.

For more information about the author, please visit Ellen Byron's website.

Thanks to Sarah from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron, Crooked Lane Books, ©2015. ISBN 9781629532509(Hardcover), 282p.

Red Line by Brian Thiem

In Red Line, Matt Sinclair has just landed his first case since coming off desk duty. A teenager is found on a bus bench. That's just the beginning, though, as other bodies turn up. With no apparent links among the victims, Sinclair has to wrap this one up quickly before this new chapter of his career comes to a crashing end.

When the book first came in the mail, I decided to read a couple of pages, just to see what it was like. I found the story so compelling that I immediately dropped the other two books I was reading just to see how this one was going to pan out. I wasn't disappointed. I absolutely loved this methodical police procedural with a great main protagonist.

Brian Thiem, the author, has extensive experience in both law enforcement and military duty. Since I'm not a huge fan of war related stories, I'm glad he focused on his knowledge of police work to bring us this terrific mystery.

There are many things I like about this book. First of all, the book got (and held) my attention from page one without gratuitous violence, sex or excessive swearing. Thiem proves that a good story and a great main protagonist go a long way in making a successful book. Next, Thiem not only explained many of the abbreviations/acronyms used in police work, he did it in a natural way. Not all authors do that. Also, cop lingo and insider slang was kept to a minimum. Both of these last items made me feel included rather than feeling like an outsider looking in. Besides that, the writing is pretty good and the characters are very believable.

I loved Matt Sinclair as a main character. His far from perfect life had me on the edge of my seat hoping he'd succeed in putting his troubles behind him. Everything that happened, though, left me with lots of doubt as to whether or not he had the capacity to do it. Lots of tension for sure! I especially loved his struggle with addiction and his relationship with his sponsor/friend. I also really liked how events from his past were scattered throughout the book. Because they were revealed slowly, they added another mysterious quality to the story.

The book also contains lots of information about Oakland, California. I haven't been there myself, but I'm sure those familiar with the area will get a kick out of reading about it.

Highly recommended. I'm anxiously waiting to read more works by this author.

For more information about this book, please visit the Crooked Lane Books website.

For more information about the author, please visit Brian Thiem's website.

Thanks to Sarah from Kaye Publicity for this review copy.

Red Line by Brian Thiem, Crooked Lane Books (The Quick Brown Fox & Company), ©2015. ISBN 9781629531946 (Hardcover), 360p.