All the Dark Places by Terri Parlato is a suspenseful and atmospheric mystery thriller. This debut novel is well crafted and hooked me in the firsAll the Dark Places by Terri Parlato is a suspenseful and atmospheric mystery thriller. This debut novel is well crafted and hooked me in the first chapter. Molly Bradley has thrown a fortieth birthday party for her husband Jay with their closest friends gathered for the event. Everyone loved Jay, but the next morning Molly finds Jay dead in his home office in the detached garage.
Detective Rita Myers and her partner Detective Chase Fuller, with the Graybridge, Massachusetts police department, get the case. Jay’s murder doesn’t seem to be a crime of opportunity or random. Did one of his and Molly’s friends kill him? As the police dig into Jay’s life and those of their friends, everyone becomes a suspect. Meanwhile, Molly is devastated. Jay is the only person who really understands the horror she lived through when she was young. Now, her rock is gone. Who can Molly trust and who killed Jay?
Molly is haunted by her past, but readers only gradually learn what happened to her. She no longer feels safe. However, some of the things she does made me believe she wasn’t thinking straight. I found myself asking multiple times: Why did Molly do that? Rita is an experienced Boston police officer and detective who accepted the job in Graybridge when a friend became the police chief there. She loves training new detectives, has recently turned sixty, and still likes the challenge of the job and solving mysteries.
This fascinating story is told from the points of view of Molly and Rita. It had the combined aspects of a police procedural, a murder mystery, and a psychological thriller. As readers, we get clues as the characters do. Will you guess who the killer is?
This author brought a wide variety of characters together, but they weren’t extremely diverse. I hope that changes in the next novel. Most of the characters are self-confident, but are their stories truths or lies?
With a strong start to the novel, readers have to decipher the clues with Molly and Rita. Everyone seems to have secrets. The plot is deeply involved with several twists to the story to keep readers captivated to its dramatic conclusion.
Parlato brought suspense, interesting characters, and an exciting story line together in a thrilling novel. I am looking forward to reading her next book. I would also love to see a series featuring Rita. If you enjoy intriguing police procedurals, mysteries, and psychological thrillers, then this may be the book for you.
Kensington Books and Terri Parlato provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for December 27 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
---------------------------------------------- My 3.98 rounded to 4 stars review will be coming soon....more
Cleopatra’s Vendetta by Avanti Centrae is the first book in the Stryker thriller series. What more could I ask for than intrigue, history, scienceCleopatra’s Vendetta by Avanti Centrae is the first book in the Stryker thriller series. What more could I ask for than intrigue, history, science, and mystery in an action thriller? Timothy Stryker, his wife Angie, their daughter Harper, and Angie’s sister Sam are in Italy for a wedding. Tim is hoping to use the holiday time to reconcile with his wife. They have been arguing lately after the death of their infant son.
While Stryker is sent on a mission to Saudi Arabia, Angie and Harper are kidnapped along with a couple of Angie’s friends. Tim is a think tank special operations leader and Angie is the chief executive officer of firm. Stryker is desperate to rescue Angie and Harper. As he works to location the kidnappers, he discovers the same people are behind the recent assassinations in multiple countries and that another one will be occurring in seven days. Meanwhile Angie realizes her kidnappers are hiding an ancient secret and use modern propaganda techniques. Why were she, Harper, and the other women kidnapped? Can she somehow escape?
As Stryker and the other think tank operations team members race from country to country, they have to foil to upcoming assassination attempts, avoid hitmen, and solve a mystery going back to the time of Cleopatra.
Stryker and Angie are strong protagonists with a lot of depth. Their resilience and courage shine throughout the novel, as well as their love for one another. They have weaknesses that challenge them, but also strengths emerge when least expected. Each one experiences growth over the course of the story. Sam’s love of her sister’s family and her love of history provided additional insights into the investigation and the family dynamics.
Centrae does a great job of world-building and makes the locations in the book come alive. She also adds cultural and historical aspects to the places and people making the reading experience an immersive one. This takes talent when the book covers multiple countries. The plot is full of history, intrigue, lies, treachery, mystery, and twists and turns. Themes include views on women, power, propaganda, political power, and personal power. The author’s note includes research done on Cleopatra and the history of propaganda.
Overall, this novel was entertaining, informative, thought-provoking, and fast-paced. This is a new-to-me author and I am looking forward to reading more of her books.
I received a digital copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
----------------------------------------------- My 4.52 rounded to 5 stars review will be coming soon....more
Steven Konkoly’s first book in the Devin Gray series is disconcerting, suspenseful, and action-packed. It has aspects of both political and military tSteven Konkoly’s first book in the Devin Gray series is disconcerting, suspenseful, and action-packed. It has aspects of both political and military thrillers as well as a conspiracy thriller. Devin Gray is a counter surveillance expert and a former FBI agent. When his mother, Helen Gray dies, she’s a disgraced former CIA officer and viewed as paranoid and unstable, even by Devin. However, when he finds what she has left behind, he enlists help from a long-time friend, Marnie Young, and a team of covert operatives. They need hard evidence before taking this shocking information to others. Devin’s mission becomes searching for a way to destroy a covert network in the United States and to prove his mother’s claims and clear her name.
As always, this author brings characters to life, especially Devin and Marnie. They’re intelligent, patriotic, self-confident, strong, and bold. However, they also have some shortcomings that readers find as the story progresses and their natures and backstories become known to readers. It was also great to visit with old friends from the Black Flagged series.
The prologue is a strong start to the novel with action, strength, and heartbreak. However, it took a while to determine how it fit into the rest of the story, which takes readers from Washington DC to multiple US states. This novel kept me captivated from the first page to its astonishing conclusion, which sets up the next book in the series but leaves several threads open that left me wanting more. The plot is deeply involved with several twists to the story, although many of the activities are over-the-top. It was so full of action and excitement that it kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. I was kept fully invested in the mission becoming a success. But is that what happens?
Konkoly continues to bring great characters, entertaining story lines, and lots of action together in exhilarating novels. Certain aspects of Devin’s character were especially gratifying when compared to some of the covert operatives. The gripping scenes and great plot kept me on the edge of my seat. Konkoly has become one of my favorite authors and I look forward to reading more from him.
Overall, this book was suspenseful, riveting, fast-paced, action-oriented, and highly entertaining. It was an exhilarating first book in the series and I’m looking forward to reading the next book soon. If you enjoy intriguing action, military, and espionage thrillers that have strong male and female characters, then this may be the series for you.
Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date was February 1, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
------------------------------------------- My 4.5 rounded to 5 stars review is coming soon....more
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