What Remains of Forever by Kim L. Brantley; Spirits of the Law (Suddenly French Mystery Series) by Elle Jauffert

What Remains of Forever by Kim L. Brantley 

Kim L. Brantley’s Science Fiction Romance, What Remains of Forever, is an uneven but fascinating Science Fiction Romance about a small group of immortals coming to terms with mortality and the investigator who is intrigued by them.

Richard Evans has been found dead by his friends, Lucien, Aurelia, Octavia, Valeria, and Cassian, a secretive and eccentric group that have known Richard for decades and each other for longer than that. They are immortal and this murder investigation gives them unwanted attention. Independent consultant Adrian Varro is drawn to the case and in particular to the beautiful and enigmatic Valeria who is pursuing her next step with fellow immortal Cassian.

What Remains of Forever has some interesting possibilities in world building and characterization. 

The immortal characters are a pretty fascinating enigmatic bunch. Like many literary characters, they hint much about their true identity but leave a lot out so the readers are as curious about their story as those outside their circle in universe are. Adrian's search for answers echoes the reader's own ongoing curiosity with every page turn. 

The immortal characters are masterful in navigating a changing world. They have witnessed various battles, trends, political situations, social changes, technological updates. If you have lived that long, you become quite savvy in predicting potential outcomes.

 This works to their advantage because the group is particularly wealthy and has a corporation that consolidates various businesses. They not only observe goings on but use their money and connections wisely to implement beneficial changes for themselves and mortals who don't have the expected long life span that they do.

The characters are mostly well written. The stand out in the book is Valeria. She is a sharp, intelligent, enigma who enchants those around her with her appearance, allure, and mysterious demeanor. She is the CEO of their corporation and has a fine sense of business savviness honed from centuries of acquiring business acumen.

Valeria also has a pretty active love life. She had close relationships that ended because of the passage of time or by her partners’ withdrawal from sharing a life with a woman who could outlive him by several centuries. In the book proper, she becomes involved with Adrian and Cassian and has to weigh revealing her deepest secrets to the former or engaging in a long term relationship with the latter who lives those secrets as well.

While the book is well written there are tremendous flaws in writing, character, and plot. Valeria is a decent enough character but not all of the immortals are given the same amount of care. A couple of them are interchangeable and one even disappears from various chapters for no apparent reason except Brantley may have forgotten about them. 

There are some stretches of credibility when some characters outside of their immediate circle are revealed to also be immortal as well and are in the convenient right place at the right time to help them.

 Despite the murder of Richard Evans being the inciting incident, the resolution is anti-climactic, hand waved, and easy to guess. It is also revealed halfway through the book with more remaining chapters to go. Richard Evans’ death starts out as a important plot point but becomes an nonessential plot device used solely to introduce the characters’ and their conflicts.

There are huge mistakes in the writing process. One chapter is repeated word for word. It's an obvious error in formatting that wasn't discovered during the copy editing or proofreading stages. 

The biggest technical error is the change in narration. The book begins in first person limited using Valeria as the point of view character with alternating third person chapters told from other characters’ perspectives primarily Adrian's. A few chapters into the book, Valeria's first person narration is entirely abandoned in favor of third person, again focusing primarily on Valeria and Adrian. 

There is no artistic or stylistic reason for this change. Instead it looks like an immediate change in narrators but not in format to fix it. Like Brantley, changed her mind in writing the point of view but forgot to go back and fix it in the earlier chapters.

There is also a huge glaring problem towards the end when the characters' immortal origins are revealed. The story itself is intriguing but it is revealed in a long multi-chapter monologue turning what could be a fascinating backstory into one long tedious info dump of information. If I were the character receiving this information in this manner, I would have fallen asleep halfway through the telling. It might have been better for Brantley to write this backstory in story format as a series of flashbacks instead of an overwhelming slog of explanation. 

What Remains of Forever has some intriguing aspects in character and plot. Unfortunately, the book is riddled with narrative errors and overly long and complicated exposition that prevent the book from being highly recommended. Instead it is a book with good ideas but needs improvement in implementing them.

 

Spirits of the Law (Suddenly French Mystery #3) by Elle Jauffert 

Elle Jauffert’s Spirits of the Law of the Suddenly French Mystery Series is a charming and at times sinister cozy mystery that combines the usual stand alone murder with an ongoing story arc that carries through multiple volumes.

Local medium Starlight Dreamfield dies in a car collision that appears to be murder rather than an accident or suicide. She might have discovered or predicted something that one of her former clients disagreed with.

For Claire Fontaine, protagonist and former criminal defense attorney turned caterer and gourmet chef, Starlight’s death is yet another unsolved mystery in her life. She survived a murder attempt via vehicular manslaughter but it left her with a ruptured brain and Foreign Accent Syndrome in which she suddenly acquired a French accent. Her beloved sister, Aurora also went missing twenty years ago and her family has been looking for her ever since.

 As Clair investigates Starlight’s murder, she discovers a long trail that connects Starlight's murder, to Aurora's disappearance, Claire's attempted murder, and the secretive and scandalous history of Caper Cove, California the town Claire calls home. It is an intricate conspiracy that spread across decades, even centuries of unsolved crimes, secretive criminal history, and deaths of multiple witnesses.

This mystery has plenty of small town pleasantness found in most cozies, an effectively troubled protagonist, and an interesting if a bit convoluted mystery that ties everything together.

Caper Cove is a quaint small town similar to others in this subgenre. It has holiday traditions in which just about everyone in town participates, such as this volume’s Halloween festival.

 It's a place where everything is taken seriously from the history of the town’s founder to celebrations that preserve tradition.

 The residents strive to keep the town's reputation as a peaceful, pleasant location intact. The independent shops, old mansions, and friendly townsfolk put the readers into a false sense of security when violent murders occur.

Claire is a highlight in this volume. She presents the right combination of kindness and trauma that is found in such a cozy mystery’s protagonist. Most of Claire's trauma comes from her backstory which is respectfully handled and keeps the narration from being too mawkish or cloying.

The Foreign Accent Syndrome is a condition that she has learned to accept even as it confuses others around her. There are several parts where people assume that she's a French immigrant newly arrived in the US and are thoroughly confused when they meet her American father and people who have known and grown up with her.

The accent however opens doors professionally because many people assume that Claire is a sophisticate who studied gourmet cooking in her native France rather than a local girl and American citizen who likes to cook. Foreign Accent Syndrome is a strange baffling condition but it is one that Claire has learned to live with and succeed despite its presence. 

By far the biggest trauma affecting Claire's life is the disappearance of her sister, Aurora. There are some dramatic moments where she thinks that she sees someone who might be her but the image disappears before she can learn the truth.

The effects that Aurora's disappearance has on both Claire and their father shows that the anguish of a missing person never really goes away. It's moved to the back of the mind as current mundane issues take precedence. In Claire's case, it makes her more empathetic towards other people with similar struggles.

The mystery has its share of interesting clues and leads. There are moments of suspense especially considering some of the suspects are people that have been known by Claire and her friends and family for years. It's chilling to read that someone that you know, trust, and have plenty of happy memories with could be a murderer or at least complicit in one.

One of the intriguing aspects is the potential of a paranormal mystery. Starlight's medium skills are seen mostly as fraudulent. However, there are moments when she intuitively knew more than she should have if she solely used conventional means. 

The appearance of apparitions are seen as potentially ghosts, hallucinations, mistaken identities, or returning characters from the past who then inspire more questions by their presence. That uncertainty allows readers to offer their own speculations about what they think is going on until they discover the answers. 

However, the twists can get unwieldy as multiple mysteries are tied together in this investigation. Many of the subplots are only tangentially connected to the central mystery. 

Conclusions are made because of surprise discoveries which lock the readers out of the loop when they want to follow the clues to solve the mystery for themselves. One lead is so obvious that it would be a surprise if it didn't lead to that conclusion.

Despite the convoluted multiple mysteries, Spirits of the Law is a well done cozy mystery with plenty of small town charm and suspense to keep readers interested.

Samhain by Nuith Lachesis, Seed of Fear by Patrick Seaman, A Woman Between Two Worlds by Kim Brantley

Samhain: Origins, Lore, Ancestor Traditions, and Flexible Wiccan Rituals for Solitary Practice, Couples, Families, and Covens by Nuith Lachesis

Samhain is an important holiday for Wiccans. It marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the winter in the Gaelic harvest calendar. Bonfires play a huge role for practical reasons like protection, gathering, and driving off pests and symbolic reasons like purification and marking the turning of the year. The day carried strong associations with the dead and ancestors. It’s sometimes referred to as a thinning veil. Divination customs are also traditions in modern harvests and Halloween traditions. This book explores the various customs and traditions associated with the holiday including for various types of Wiccans. 

The chapters include “History and Origin,” “Symbolism and Correspondence,” “Planning Your Celebration,” “The Solitary Flame: Rituals for Solitary Practice,” “Two Flames: Rituals for Couples,” “The Family Hearth: Rituals for Families,” “The Circle’s Fire: Rituals for Covens,”and  “Until The Wheel Turns Again.”

One of the most intriguing facets of this book is the emphasis on different Wiccan rituals for solitaries, couples, families, and covens. To do this author Nuith Lachesis mentions specific people who represent those types: Rowan, a Solitary Wiccan who lives in an urban apartment, so has access to only a limited amount of tools to practice her craft, Briar, a Solitary Wiccan with 20 years of experience, Dana and Marlowe, a couple who practice Wicca together, The Hart Family, parents Sam and Jordan and their three children Avery, Quinn, and Wren who represent the Fam-Trad tradition of passing Wiccan rituals across generations, and The Ashgrove Circle, a coven of eight to ten members who engage in elaborate ceremonies. These examples personalize the various rituals and practices that Wiccans can take to honor the holiday. 

For example “The Solitary Flame” chapter includes “Ancestor Altar Ritual,” “First Solitary Samhain Ritual,” “The Dumb Supper,” “Divination Night,” “A Releasing Ritual,” “Veil-Walking Meditation,” “Apartment Friendly Full Celebration,” and the “Full Solitary Rite.” 

 

Seed of Fear: A Biotech Conspiracy Thriller (The Quiet Harvest Series) by Patrick Seaman

Seed of Fear is a tense and emotion driven thriller about a couple separated by the manipulations of others.

DEA Special Agent Sean McCreary is the only survivor of an ambush that left the rest of his team dead or languishing in the hospital. He is filled with Post Trauma and Survivor's Guilt but he has another more personal struggle to deal with. His girlfriend, Grace Liang, a food engineer, has gone missing. Unbeknownst to her, she created a specific pathway design that other more nefarious government representatives and cartels want to get their hands on. Grace tries to survive her captivity while Alec tries to find her while uncovering the ambush and the reasons behind it.

This book has all of the qualities of an effective thriller. It has nail biting action, various methods of torture, clandestine meetings, betrayals on top of betrayals, and physical, emotional, and mental trauma than a real person can possibly take but it’s all in a day’s work for the protagonists. But what really sells it is the emotional journeys that Alec and Grace are forced to take.

Alec’s PTSD from the ambush is very real. There are some moments where he encounters his former teammates and their family members. He recognizes the cost of living a life on the edge for a government that could thank you for your service one minute and then pretend like you never existed in the first place. In some of the worst moments, he experiences betrayal when he learns that instead of helping him avenge their deaths, his superiors and colleagues would rather hush the whole thing up.

Grace also experiences betrayal as well though a more personal kind. She learns that one of her kidnappers is someone that she knows and once trusted. Her moments with this abductor are some of the emotional highlights as she simultaneously hates their actions and misses the relationship that they used to have. 

 A Woman Between Two Worlds by Kim Brantley 

This is a Science Fiction novel about discovering one’s inner power, transformation, rebuilding one’s life after tragedy, self-awareness, searching for and finding a higher purpose.

World governments have been given a message: In 30 days aliens, called the Velari, will arrive and in the meantime they have to prepare humanity for their arrival. After the transmission, the DNA of various Earthlings change revealing a hidden alien ancestry and the ability to communicate telepathically with the Velari.

One of those humans is Cassandra, a divorcee who is embarking on a second happier but unfulfilling marriage. She is selected along with the others to be an ambassador to the Velari and has to spend a lot of time with them. While among them, she has to figure out who she is, who she loves, and what she wants to do with her new abilities.

A Woman Between Two Worlds is a novel about transforming one’s body, mind, spirit, and purpose in life. Those who have been transformed, called Pathfinders, not only communicate with the Velari but share memories, emotions, thoughts, memories, and experiences. This bond changes them physically, mentally, and emotionally so they obtain higher consciousness and enlightenment. It's an experience that is both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

Kim Brantley explores the various aspects from the people going through the changes and those around them. The Pathfinders themselves experience this amazing transformation where they have the mindset of otherworldly beings but are still in the bodies of humans. They might have visions of other worlds but still have to eat, sleep, and live around people. 

This division of ethereal and human can be draining and create a schism within. Cassandra for example shares thoughts and emotions with others, but she worries about how her actions affect those around her. 

Cassandra is already anxious from her Earth troubles. She is shattered by the end of her marriage and still in that phase where she both loves and hates her ex. She floats along in her life feeling detached until the transformation happens.

The transformation turns her into someone more empathetic, compassionate, and intuitive. The visions of the Velari and their home world help her and the other Pathfinders search for ways to save their world. Far from being the drifting troubled woman preoccupied with her own struggles, she finds purpose and meaning in her life.

However no transformation comes without confusion or pain. Cassandra is filled with questions. How does being an alien ambassador change her relationship with her ex? Do her neighbors see an enlightened being, a cult member, or a traitor to her species? Do they want to heed her advice, burn her at the stake, or do both? Becoming a Pathfinder is an illuminating but anxiety inducing experience.

Earthlings around Cassandra and the other Pathfinders are fascinated but also fearful of the changes in their friends and family. Some come to them for advice or want to take part in the new world that they are creating. Others want to exploit them for their own gain. Others fear and want to study them, quarantine them, or execute them out of concerns that they will destroy the planet. 

The Velari gives Earth the answers to their problems in human form but the people have to set prejudice and fear aside and trust the human vessels to listen to them. 

Spies Among Us An Alex Boyd Thriller by Mel Harrison; The Warrior Strong Manifesto by Karen Bentley; Flamingo Express by Kenneth D. Michaels

 

Spies Among Us (An Alex Boyd Thriller) by Mel Harrison; The Warrior Strong Manifesto: The Path to Power Based on The Ancient Shamanic Strategy of Life Energy Conservation by Karen Bentley 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spies Among Us (An Alex Boyd Thriller) by Mel Harrison 

This review is a summary. The full review is on LitPick. 

Spies Among Us is a tight well constructed spy thriller with fascinating characters, particularly the main protagonists and antagonists. It's great for readers who are looking for an action novel to keep their blood pumping in suspense during hot summer days.

Alex Boyd, senior special agent with the Diplomatic Security Service and his wife Rachel Smith are assigned to London because of her job as a political officer with the State Department and the U.S. Embassy. Unfortunately, all is not well as anomalies, misinformation, inconsistencies, and leaked news occur. 

Alex and Rachel believe that an insider is passing highly confidential information to Russian spies. However their investigations reveal that the informants and the spies are closer than they thought and those revelations could put them in danger.

The main spy thriller plot is well organized and carries the usual transfer of information, secret messages, surprise allegiances, dubious identities, plot twists, deception, cliffhangers, dangerous situations, betrayal, and fractured relationships when the truth is found out. 

This is a two character narrative. Alex and Rachel are a happily married couple that use their intelligence and expertise in Special Services and the State Department to solve this crisis.Their contributions to different facets of the case are augmented by their repartee and romantic life. 

 Thanks to the characters' relationship, Spies Among Us is both an action thriller and a love story. 

The WarriorSTRONG Manifesto: The Path to Power Based on The Ancient Lost Shamanic Strategy of Life Energy Conservation by Karen Bentley 

Karen Bentley’s personal development book is a written declaration to create strategic beliefs and life force energy-saving principles exclusive to warriors. This approach is so readers can find their own inner strength and fight their personal struggles by unleashing their inner warrior.

The book encourages readers to open up the warrior's strategy by saving life energy and opening up personal power. Bentley provides tips on how one can discover and use their personal power through actions like journaling, maintaining awareness, and developing inner, emotional, and physical/nutritional strengths. 

Chapters include information on the Warrior's Strategy, Mission, and Mindset, The WarriorSTRONG Advantage, Stop Wasting Your Life, Become Harmless, Calm Yourself Down, Eliminate What You Don't Want, Solve Your Problem, Ask For It, A New Forgiveness, Use the Warriorsdailycode to Discipline Yourself, and Do You Hear The Warrior's Call?

This book emphasizes taking action, living in moderation, being in emotional control, facing adversity and hardships, opening communication, atoning for mistakes, making clear plans, and having the determination and fortitude to succeed. 

Flamingo Express (A Nick and Norm Gay Detective Series Book) by Kenneth D. Michaels

This is a summary. The entire review is on Reader Views.

If ever there was a book written this year that is more perfect for summertime beach reading than Kenneth D. Michaels’ Flamingo Express, part of his Nick and Norm Gay Detective Series, then they had better have the sun shining from every page. 

Nick and Norm, detective partners, are recovering from their last case. They go to visit their friends, Jojo and Lola, in Key West, Florida. They are recruited to solve a string of fentanyl overdose deaths and the kidnapping of two flamingos, Lucy and Desi who are the star attractions at The Bird House.

The book has many excellent qualities and one of them is the Key West setting. Like authors of other murder mysteries where the protagonists are in a new location, Michaels takes great care in turning Key West into a character itself.

The setting isn't the only bright spot in the book. The mystery plot is pretty straightforward with the usual clues, interviews with witnesses and suspects, cliffhangers, suspense, plot twists, and resolution. 

The book sparkles with plenty of wit and charm from the cast of characters. Nick and Norm are more than just dedicated mystery solvers and a witty comedy duo. They are loyal friends. Nick has a serious subplot which involves trauma from previous cases and Norm tries to help him through.

Flamingo Express is perfect for adult mystery fans to read during hot summer nights, in airplanes, in hotels and vacation spots, or just sitting at home in an air conditioned house. It's witty, comical, warm, touching, suspenseful, and has plenty of fun and sunshine. 

The Sixth Victim (A Constance Piper Mystery) by Tessa Harris; Jack The Ripper Takes Center Stage in Ominous Supernatural Mystery

 

The Sixth Victim (A Constance Piper Mystery) by Tessa Harris; Jack The Ripper Takes Center Stage in Ominous Supernatural Mystery 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Now we turn to that unsolved historical mystery, Whitechapel, East End London’s most infamous son, Jack The Ripper. This famed and unidentified serial killer of female sex workers is the primary antagonist in The Sixth Victim: A Constance Piper Mystery by Tessa Harris. This is an effective Historical Mystery which captures time, place, and important themes about the degradation of women in the patriarchal Victorian Era.

Flower seller Constance Piper has to support her family but right now Whitechapel citizens are in fear. The latest victim “Dark” Annie Chapman was found after previous victims, Martha Tabram and Polly Nichols. Every woman walks home in terror and anxiety of the killer that could come out of the shadows to strike. However, Constance has a secret weapon at her disposal. She can communicate with ghosts and has reached the interest of Emily Tindall, a teacher who is concerned about a missing friend and students who have also vanished. Constance and Emily work together to solve these murders and disappearances.

This book captures the setting intricately with both time and place. The Victorian Age revealed a sharp division between rich and poor which is revealed through the contrast between lead characters. 

Emily lives around the middle to upper class while Constance dwells with the working lower class. Emily visits ornate wealthy houses while Constance lives in city slums. Emily's closest circle dines on five course dinners on fancy dishes while Constance’s friends and family face imminent starvation and homelessness. Emily's friends hide marital struggles and family disputes behind closed doors that are protected by status and connections. Constance's friends’ struggles are out for the world to see and are augmented by the lack of concern from those same resources. 

Rich and poor live in separate worlds and the twain does not meet often. However Emily and Constance act as bridges between them. Though Emily's status would be considered wealthy if not comfortable she does not ignore the plight of others. As an educator, she understands the importance of learning and teaches reading to working class women. She helps them realize that they don't have to limit themselves to an impoverished life and they can aspire to a better one. 

Emily recognizes that these women often had very few options which often resulted in domestic violence, alcoholism, addiction, prostitution, and illegitimate pregnancy. By educating them, Emily gives opportunities and options to break the cycles around them.

Constance considers Emily a mentor so their exchanges are full of warmth and support. Constance is the only person in her family that can read and feels like an outsider among her peers whose goals often go as far as their next meal or finding a partner for the night. 

Emily wants to open a shop, leave the East End, and build a comfortable nest egg. One of the more revealing moments is when she is dressed in a nice suit and speaks professionally to a wealthy woman. She surprises herself with her polished refined behavior even as she hides nerves underneath.

Besides the attention to class struggles, this book is adept at recounting the Jack The Ripper case and the overall violent world in which they take place. We are shown the “Canon Five” victims: Polly Nichols, Dark Annie Chapman, Long Lizzie Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Kelly. Kelly's story is particularly heartbreaking as she struggles with an unwanted pregnancy and a troubled common law marriage. 

Harris also offers some speculation. A potential victim is Martha Tabram, who at the time was considered a Ripper victim and even now there's some debate whether she was one or not. There is also the appearance of a headless unidentified female corpse, a real life unsolved mystery at the time that was also attributed to Jack.

The details are there: the notes, the graphic violence, the potential suspects, and the theories. The book plays on speculations and profiles to depict the potential suspects. In depicting them, Harris comments on xenophobia, fear of authority, and dehumanization of different classes. 

Even without the Ripper, there is a dark undercurrent of violence and crime. There is domestic abuse, forced prostitution, child trafficking, and fraudsters posing as mediums. In fact it is during a session with a fake medium when Constance first displays her real clairvoyant abilities. 

It is a mean world where Jack can hide in plain sight because he fits in. It's a world where Victorian moralists lecture others, particularly women, about propriety while at the same time committing violence towards women and maintaining a patriarchal system in which they can't report it.

With The Sixth Victim, Tessa Harris uses the Jack The Ripper murders as a springboard in this dissection of Victorian class division, subjugation of women, and depraved violence. 

The Bangkok Girl (A Lee Jenson Novel) by Sean O'Leary; One Crime in Bangkok Makes a Neo-Noir Rumble

 

The Bangkok Girl (A Lee Jenson Novel) by Sean O'Leary; One Crime in Bangkok Makes a Neo-Noir Rumble 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: With apologies to Tim Rice, Bjorn Ulvaeus, and Benny Anderssen, I couldn’t resist the paraphrase of “One Night in Bangkok.” I also apologize for the earworm. I am suffering for it, believe me.

When it comes to settings in Mysteries and Thrillers, Bangkok is a likely one if the mystery involves the sex tourism industry. It’s like New Orleans for Supernatural Horror, or DC for political crimes, New York for organized crime, or LA involving celebrity crimes. There are just some places on Earth which are practically short hand tropes, almost cliches, for certain types of crimes and conflicts that the reader will encounter. Bangkok with its reputation for a decadent night life, loose enforcement, stigmatization, and ambiguous distinction of the definitions of sex crimes is just the right place if the crime involves sexual assault, human trafficking, and forced sex work. That’s what Lee Jenson, private investigator is faced with in Sean O’Leary’s The Bangkok Girl. It is a modern day Neo-Noir Crime novel with its seedy location, troubled detective, ineffective or corrupt authority, powerful dangerous men and women in suits, and innocents who get swept up in the night life that destroys them.

Lee is a private investigator exiled from his native country, Australia and has settled in Thailand. He enjoys the roguish atmosphere and he gets plenty of assignments so he’s never bored. He receives a call from a potential client who is looking for his missing daughter. It seems Zoe Burgess, the young woman, worked as a jazz singer in various clubs around Sydney, Singapore, Bangkok, and Tokyo. However, she is missing and her parents are determined to find her. While Lee investigates Zoe’s trail with the help of his assistant/photographer/martial artist, Kanika, Lee learns that the poor girl did more than play special song requests. She was kidnapped, trafficked, drugged, and forced into sex work. Now Lee has to find her while facing the Yakuza, who have very powerful connections that have spread through various cities and countries and don’t like this detective nosing in on their business. 

There is definitely a sense of the old hard boiled detective noir books in The Bangkok Girl. It’s a subgenre that reminds Readers that the world is a dark cynical place and is full of soulless people who will corrupt, destroy, dominate, and murder others for money, position, or just for the Hell of it. There are places and people that practically thrive on that environment and rely on it to survive.

The settings in the book, particularly Bangkok, are shaped by that dark cynicism in O’Leary’s world. Lee goes through various nightclubs, encounters many unsavory characters sometimes using bribery and force to get information. In fact, the first few pages feature a fight between Lee and two enforcers that have nothing to do with the main case. Instead, the conflict is looked on as another day on the job in Bangkok. 

Along with crime, xenophobia and ethnocentrism is a presence throughout O’Leary’s book. As Lee investigates Zoe’s disappearance, he learns that there are clubs in which he is forbidden to enter because he is looked upon as a foreigner. In a homogenous Asian country whose residents consider one ethnicity or country of origin to be superior to others, someone like Lee is looked on as the minority. 

Keep in mind, this is the type of environment in which organized crime thrives. People with big ideas, fancy suits, and a charismatic style that draws law abiding citizens who are suspicious of local authority and The System. (Remember the opening scene in The Godfather with Bonasara, the undertaker’s “I Believe in America” speech? It’s like that). These people claim to be the spokesperson of their particular ethnic group playing on their fears, insecurities, and paranoia of those that are different from them against a status quo that often struck back and minimized them first. 

So of course The Yakuza would have a hand in this with their control with money, influence, threats, intimidation, and abuse. The Yakuza members, particularly one Hiro Kawasaki, have such a presence in the book. He is magnetic and cutthroat, the type that may invite you to his fancy private rooms but leaves his target uncertain whether he is going to sleep with them, shoot them, or both. The people surrounding him are both drawn to and are in fear of him so he is able to get away with a lot.

 Hiro has plenty of influence that allows him to practice his criminal acts and plenty of informers, like one who befriends women so they can then traffic them. Hiro has so much power and authority that there really is only one way to remove him. Even that won’t work, because there will always be another Hiro waiting to take his place.

Besides the crime element, that bitter cynicism can also be found within its protagonist. Lee has his own issues to work out. His exile from Australia is dubious and only hinted at but suggests that he committed some violent acts, suffered personal and professional trauma, and may have earned the ire of more than a few in charge. 

Lee is the right person to travel into such dark corners because he is as dark as they are, sometimes darker. He often has to rely on the assistance of others like Kanika, who is a sardonic but observant aide, to go inside places that he, a white man, can’t always enter. But he has the mindset to put those connections and clues together to make a whole picture.

Lee knows this world because he has to live it, not just because of his job but because it’s in his body and mind. He is Schizophrenic and relies on meds to keep his hallucinations and delusions at bay. At times this makes him vulnerable in certain situations. 

In some very eerie chapters, Lee is kidnapped by the Yakuza and is deprived of his medications. Surrounded by the enemies that he is supposed to face for Zoe’s life, he is consumed by the enemies in his mind that threatens to destroy and annihilate him from within.

 

Miles in Time: A YA Time Travel Mystery (Miles in Time Series Book 1) by Lee Matthew Goldberg; Time Travel YA Series Has Suspenseful Engaging First Volume

 Miles in Time: A YA Time Travel Mystery (Miles in Time Series Book 1) by Lee Matthew Goldberg; Time Travel YA Series Has Suspenseful Engaging First Volume 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Lee Matthew Goldberg has a tendency to give his Readers a wild ride. Slow Down was a drug trip about a Hollywood hopeful who gets involved with an experimental film that gets too experimental and deadly. Orange City is about a copywriter in a futuristic society who samples a drink that is used to drug and ultimately control the people. The Mentor features an editor who is stalked by an author who turns to violence and murder for inspiration. The Desire Card is a five volume series about several people who become involved with a nefarious organization that promises their deepest desires but with strict payments and penalties that are literally real killers. His latest, Miles in Time, is more conventional as it is written for a YA readership, but it still retains much of the suspense, tension, unpredictable chaos, and plot twists of its predecessors. 

Miles Hardy is a teen with a fascination for mysteries so he opens up a private investigation service. Unfortunately, serious mysteries and crimes are hard to come by in small town Frontier, Iowa and he can only search for missing cats for so long. However, he is hit with a very serious crime when his secretive older brother, Simon, dies in what was originally believed to be suicide but evidence points to murder. Devastated but determined, Miles receives coded messages that SImon sent him in advance that leads him to a mysterious lab which holds Simon’s secret project: a time machine. Miles must use the time machine to travel to a week before his brother's death to save his life and find out who wants him dead.

Because Miles in Time crosses genres with Science Fiction and Mystery, it combines tropes from both to create an interesting amalgam of two separate tones and styles. In some ways both genres rely on curiosity. Science Fiction asks “What if?” and involves imagining possibilities and procedures to lead to the answer to that initial question. Mysteries often ask “What happened and who did it” and involve seeking clues and leads to come to a credible conclusion. Mysteries asks that you look around you while Science Fiction asks that you imagine what lies ahead but both are genres which involve discovery. 

That is what is at play here. Both Hardy Brothers go through their own individual quests of discovery to come to their conclusions. Simon spends his time in his lab, testing his theories about time travel, experimenting by sending his guinea pig Stinkers into the past, writing messages in code, and transcribing his notes into book form so Miles can understand and follow it. His goal is to prove that time travel is possible and that the past can be changed. His quest requires thought, intellect, and analysis of data.

Miles however is more physically than mentally active. He spends his time observing his surroundings for any changes in normal patterns, asking open ended questions that lead to potential leads, sneaking into forbidden places, and gathering clues in a way that ties all of the evidence together to draw conclusions. His goal is to find his brother’s murderer and to defeat potential enemies. His quest requires strength, courage and attention to detail. 

There are many suspenseful moments that occur during Miles’s trip to the past. No one is above suspicion. Miles investigates the school bully, Simon’s clique, his detached father, his mentally ill mother, a teacher who appears to have encouraged Simon’s pursuits, and a curious and attentive girl that Miles is attracted to. There is also a mysterious organization that hampers Miles’s investigation, seem to know a great deal about Simon’s experiment, and aren't afraid to get violent if need be even towards kids. It’s a tight plot with plenty of dangerous situations that Miles has to use his wits to escape from. It’s the kind of book that keeps the Reader fascinated with the various questions and Miles’ pursuit in answering them. 

There is also plenty of emotional depth in the book that thankfully doesn’t get in the way of the overall suspenseful and inquisitive tone. There are a lot of soft emotions in Miles’ relationship with his mother for example. She is a haunting presence as someone who lives in a semi-catatonic state in which she is awake and is able to move but is mentally separated from her family. She says very little except the occasional non sequitur rages and moves so seldomly that she has to be fed and given medicine by hand. She is like a dependent frightened child but occasionally she seems to know or understand more than she can admit. The brothers and their father clearly love her but are overwhelmed and anxious about her slipping away from her family. 

Miles and Simon's fraternal relationship is the real soul of the book. The chapter where Miles discovers Simon’s body is heartbreaking as is his anguish and remorse over the distance between the two brothers. During his time travel adventure, Miles stays by his brother’s side pretending that he is interviewing him for a school assignment and is able to see the world through Simon’s perspective. The time travel and the investigation gives Miles and Simon an opportunity to understand, empathize, and bond with one another. 

Ironically, Miles’ time in the past is the longest most pleasant experience that the two brothers shared in years. They are able to repair a relationship that was once close when they created imaginary worlds and secret codes but has become distant when maturity, puberty, and different interests and perspectives got in the way. Miles may have traveled through time to save Simon, but it was clear that the brothers needed to save each other. 

As with many ongoing series, Miles in Time leaves some questions unanswered and some plot points unresolved for the next volume. This first volume is a strong sharp start and hopefully the next volume will continue to be that way. 

Blunt Force Rising (An Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Mystery Novel) by Russ Colchamiro; Angela's Darkest and Most Violent Mystery Yet.

 Blunt Force Rising (An Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Mystery Novel) by Russ Colchamiro; Angela's Darkest and Most Violent Mystery Yet.

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Before we begin, I ask you to please read my previous reviews for Crackle and Fire, Fractured Lives, Hot Ash, and Trigger Point as it will enhance your understanding of and might reveal some important plot points that are mentioned in this review.

So now we come to the fourth volume of the Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Mystery Thriller Series and my last one to date,  Blunt Force Rising. And boy did its author, Russ Colchamiro know how to end, or rather penultimately end (since book five, Trigger Point, was the actual last book) the series on a high, or rather gruesome, bloody, violent, dark but very memorable point.

Blunt Force Rising is probably the darkest Angela Hardwicke novel yet and that's honestly saying a lot. It starts out very subtle. Angela and her partner, Eric Whistler are invited on a galaxy cruiser by their client, Ther’eda Ranadyne, CEO of Ranadyne Cybernetics, a leader in the development of AI intelligence and manufacturing androids. She is hiring the duo to look for a technician who is responsible for tampering with the Death Code, a code that creates premature aging and death within androids after a certain time. 

At first, the book seems like a Science Fiction equivalent of Death on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express or other Agatha Christie novels. A locked room or closed circle murder mystery set in the future where the main characters travel in luxury while bodies are hitting the floor. Indeed, Angela and Whistler are on a luxury cruiser that voyages across the galaxy. 

It's all plush rooms, crystal decor, and pleasant service crew members. Angela touches base with some old friends, Nini and Dolores, and Whistler gets some alone time with his android girlfriend, Selene. Okay, there may be a dead body found inside a cabin but that's nothing that a seasoned pro like Angela can't handle. Yes, this Mystery seems pretty light and airy. Dare I say it, it might even be considered Science Fiction Cozy. At first.

The book takes a definite shift in tone halfway through. There were signs here and there that things might get darker. For all of the luxurious splendor in front of the characters, there is a lot of tension going on particularly between androids and humans. Androids want to be seen as people with all of the rights and privileges of their organic counterparts and quite a few aren't above using violence and resistance to get them. Some humans like Ther’eda are empathetic towards these struggles and want those rights granted while others like Dolores, are unrepentant bigots towards them.

 This conflict inserts larger political issues into the book as Science Fiction often does, reminding us that what is seen in the far off future is actually happening right now. The presence of AI Intelligence becoming more prominent not to mention DEI conflicts and controversies are still huge parts of our daily lives. 

However, the light quasi-Cozy Mystery and potentially darker political metaphorical tones eventually give way to something darker, bloody, aggressive, animalistic, primal, and fatal. During an onboard celebration something strange happens and everyone on board, crew and guests alike, behave unexpectedly, violently, and start attacking each other for seemingly no reason at all. The book is no longer just a Closed Circle Murder Mystery. It's a "Closed Circle Inside of a Zombie or rather Psychopathic Apocalypse and a Quest for Survival along with a Murder Mystery."

It is a pretty graphic scene that lasts several chapters and carries over through the remainder of the book. These aren't just verbal arguments with a few slaps, threats to murder, and aiming guns before they come to and realize that they can't pull the trigger. Colchamiro did not skimp on the gory details. 

There are descriptions of eyes being gouged out, intestines ripped out from bodies, and pieces of the dead all over the place. People didn't just attack one another. They literally and brutally destroy each other, friends, lovers, family members, colleagues. There is a mock trial where any sort of fairness, justice, or civility disappear and instead is an excuse to murder without repercussions. It didn't matter who anyone was. They were violently and horrifically slaughtered often by people that they knew and loved. 

One thing is for sure, those who murdered would probably prefer to be dead as well because once this mysterious circumstance passes and they return to normal, they may never forgive themselves for the horror that they inflicted on a loved one. This suggests that the psychological and emotional repercussions will last for a long time and lead to mental and psychotic breakdowns, suicide, addiction, and more violent acts to cope with the memories, anguish, and remorse. (For the record, we do see some of the fallout in Trigger Point, as Angela, Whistler, Nini and others are coping with these events, some in painful troubling or self-destructive ways.)

What is most disturbing is that this transformation even affects Angela and Whistler. It is heartbreaking to watch these two companions: partners, friends, mentor/student, surrogate big sister/kid brother attack each other with words referring to four books of past deeds and drawing blood.

During the attacks we get Angela's first person perspective as always and for storytelling purposes, it is a strong choice particularly here. We see Angela's internal struggles between what this transformation is making her do and her own nature that is appalled. Her thoughts not only turn to her experience with Whistler but her love for her son, Owen. She is fighting to hold onto the woman that she is: tough, hardened, cynical, but fiercely protective and loving, devoted to her home in Eternity by keeping the peace and catching thieves and murderers, but well aware of the corruption and imperfections within the system.

 She knows that her actions are wrong but her body lives for itself and the dark aggressive emotions threaten to annihilate her mind. It's very easy to assume that this mental debate is happening to everyone making the violence even more anguishing. 

It's also hard to read about Whistler going through this turmoil, particularly since he's become my favorite character in the series. He goes through great changes in the series from a flippant, idealistic sidekick and sometimes comic relief to a jaded world weary professional who willingly breaks laws and many of his previous standards, even killing. The events of the previous book, Hot Ash, traumatized Whistler and destroyed his idealistic naive character.

 In the beginning of Blunt Force Rising, he is finally in a place where he can be looked on as a legitimate investigator in his own right and stand equal to Angela. He also can find comfort and stability with Selene. All of that is taken away from him because of this change. It's not surprising that two cases that throw him in physical and emotional turmoil would cause him to rethink his path in the next book and wonder if private investigation really is for him. 

Of course there is a reason behind this transformation and of course the Dynamic Duo discover it but the mental and physical damage is ever present and spills into the next volume. This  makes it understandable why Angela and Whistler will be in those dark places and are easily put into situations that imprison and bind them and are forced to face their previous errors, fears, and insecurities. 

Tangles: A Cold War Love Story and Mystery by Kay Smith-Blum; Uncovering Environmental Destruction and Familial Disruption

 Tangles by Kay Smith-Blum; Uncovering Environmental Destruction and Familial Disruption

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Kay Smith-Blum’s novel, Tangles, tells two separate stories and links them with the theme of something pleasant and beautiful torn apart by greed and gain. One story focuses on the changing environment and the other is that of lovers separated and unable to connect.

Along with the two plots, the book has two narrators separated by almost twenty years. The first is in the 1940’s and features Mary Boone, a secretary. She is trying to survive an abusive marriage during WWII. She works at the new power plant in Hanford, Oregon which is preparing new weapons against the Axis Powers. People around her start getting sick so she investigates the origins of the illnesses despite objections from her employers, the U.S. government, and her husband, Matt who is the plant spokesperson. 

The second narrator is Luke Hinson, a young scientist in the early ‘60’s. His studies are halted when he is diagnosed with a highly suspicious form of thyroid cancer. This diagnosis leads him to his own research into the environment. As Mary and Luke continue their investigations, they find the same solution: the Hanford Nuclear Reservation tainted the environment for twenty years and is slowly killing the environment including its plants, animals, and people. Besides their concerns about the local environment, Mary and Luke share more personal connections. They were once neighbors and despite their huge age gap, the two share a mutual attraction that evolves into friendship and eventually romance with heavy complications.

The duel stories and narrators could have made the book confusing but actually works well. I would argue that it works even better than if we only had one narrator and one time span. In alternating Mary's story with Luke’s we see both the beginning and the end of this story. We see how greedy industrialists first poisoned the environment and then the results of long term illnesses years later. We also see how Mary and Luke’s relationship evolved from being casual acquaintances to Mary eventually becoming the one that got away for Luke. The two narrative halves work together to make the book a complete whole picture of a decaying environment and rocky but meaningful relationship.

This book connects the stories about the environmental investigation and Luke and Mary’s romance in ways that make them interchangeable. They are separate threads that, as the title suggests, are tangled together, affecting each other and the people around them. Neither story could exist without the other, just like neither narrator could finish their story without each other.

Both the natural setting and Luke and Mary’s relationship start out beautiful and become tainted by outside forces. The Oregon setting is filled with trees, woodland, animals, and small towns. Enough progress for people to raise families and find work but not enough to overwhelm and spoil the nature around them, at first. The plant begins the way most industries do, with promises of the future with more jobs and a chance to fight the US’s enemies which were the Axis during WWII then the Soviets during the Cold War. In a community that has plenty of natural resources but is just getting through the Great Depression and facing a war where many men are called up to serve and civilians work in government jobs this offer is tempting. But like any offer that’s too good to be true, they don’t stop to think of the consequences.

The citizens don’t think of what nuclear waste would do to the waters around them, how it would get into the food supply and inside birds, animals, and people. They don’t think about the health risks and illnesses that will shorten life spans or prematurely end lives or that future generations will be affected for years, even decades afterwards. They don’t think that the community that they once held dear and thought would benefit from this plant would break apart because of early deaths, separation, and people moving away from a place that is not only unhealthy but is filled with too many haunting memories. 

It’s not entirely the fault of the citizens for not knowing.They are not told of the consequences. The officials in their usual drive to maintain plausible deniability and keep everything under wraps hide the truth from the residents. Oh that polluted lake? Oh that’s natural. People showing symptoms of cancer? Well have they checked their family history? It certainly has nothing to do with what they eat and drink.

 The officials make sure that the worst news doesn’t get out and they aren’t above threatening doctors to give different diagnoses, changing statistics, threats, coercion, or murder to make everyone believe that everything is fine and there is nothing to worry about. Beating the United State’s enemies is the most important factor and anything else is secondary. The fact that there won’t be any workers at this plant, because they are either ill, dying, or moved on because of the scarcity of resources never occurs to them. The environment and people’s health are destroyed for others’ gains. 

The environment and health aren’t the only things that are destroyed. The bond between Mary and Luke builds and falls apart by outside forces. They relate to each other despite having a tremendous age gap because they are both lonely and suffering. Mary is in an abusive marriage and her parents are dead or dying. Luke’s father has died and he has a loving but sometimes distant relationship with his mother. They both reach turning points in their lives where they have to make serious decisions about their future. At first their bond is simply a friendship between two people that are in similar circumstances and can ask and offer advice based on their personal experiences. 

Now there are many that may question their evolving romance because of their age gap and in many ways, they would be justified in doing so. Their relationship can be seen as grooming and certainly crosses many boundaries. It’s not an easy decision for either character and to their credit both Mary and Luke are concerned about the ramifications and consequences of such a union. It’s not a relationship of passion and unbridled sexuality. It’s more of one of two lost souls that were hurting and at their most vulnerable and most emotionally naked and honest, they came together. It happened and they can’t go back and change it. The only thing that they can do is accept the consequences and live with the results.

Just like with the nature surrounding them, outside forces disrupt any future plans that Luke and Mary have. They are separated in the worst way imagined and the truth is concealed for years. It takes a long time, over a decade of loss and regret before any type of reconciliation or reclamation is made between them. When it finally does happen, there is a restoration of balance but also a wistful longing of what might have been if they had acted sooner and did not hide the truth from each other. 

Perhaps in a strange way just like the Plant officials were keeping the locals ignorant in their goals of fighting foreign enemies and keeping the US safe, Mary and Luke were keeping each other ignorant in the goal of fighting their own enemies and keeping each other safe. In both plots and both narrations, withholding secrets in the name of safety and security ended up becoming the cruelest action of all.

Girls, Crime, and The Ruling Body by Barry Ziman; Secrets, Murder, and The Political Elite

 

Girls, Crime, and The Ruling Body by Barry Ziman; Secrets, Murder, and The Political Elite

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: In the hallowed halls of the rich, famous, and powerful lie some of the darkest secrets: sexual assault, rape, pedophilia, abuse, shady business deals, racketeering, corruption, fraud, mismanagement, cooking account books, workplace violations, safety and health violations, double dealing, treason, murder, supporting and sometimes committing genocide. They think that their wealth and famous names will prevent them from facing any accountability or punishment. Unfortunately, in many cases, they are right. Barry R. Ziman’s Girls, Crime, and The Ruling Body is about people like that and how the wealthy and powerful do terrible illegal things and quite often get away with it. 

Ryan McNeil is the chief of staff for Assemblyman Nickolas Somatos, a brilliant and ambitious New York based politician who has his sights set on higher positions of power. Cathy Wilet, a beautiful intern, is reported missing and foul play is suspected. This concerns Ryan because by chance he was one of the last people to see Cathy alive. He is questioned by police after he reveals his connection with her. Ryan is considered a person of interest so he becomes obsessed with the case and Cathy. This puts him at odds with his job when Ryan's notoriety affects Somatos’ approval ratings and his relationship with his girlfriend, Caroline who leaves him. Seven years later, Ryan is still chief of staff to Somatos who is now a U.S. Congressman. He also has an advantageous though unhappy marriage to his sophisticated but troubled wife, Annie. Ryan's new life begins to crumble when another woman ends up missing in a case similar to Cathy's and because of the similarities, Ryan becomes a primary suspect.

What is particularly striking about Girls, Crime, and The Ruling Body is the inside look at the wealthy and powerful and how they function, operate, and maintain control over the United State's population. It's the type of world where everything and everybody has a price and quite often that price is high.

Somatos is a politician who might have started out with good intentions and ideals, a real concern and desire to change the world. However, idealism has been replaced by pragmatism. The good intentions became mired in compromise and gain. He still has certain beliefs that he wants to come to fruition but knows that the price is his soul to become the arrogant hypocritical judgemental politician that he once ran against. He is one of many in this book who live a life of unchecked privilege, of wealth, power, influence, and glamor. Decisions are made by people like him on behalf of the people who are expected to follow along without complaining.

It's the type of glamorous surface that occurs so often in these types of works. We might admire or envy those people from afar but fear or are suspicious towards them when we learn what is inside. Various other characters in the book are seduced and fall susceptible to this life: politicians, business people, lobbyists, spouses, lovers, interns, media. Everyone is held under a microscope as their inner selves are revealed. Quite often those inner selves are repellant, repugnant, and filled with naked aggressive, hateful, decadent, violent, and murderous intentions.

 This behavior is seen by Ryan who stands on the outside and wants in. He is no better than anyone else. He has frequent affairs and has an ambitious drive to climb higher in this cesspool. Even his concern for the welfare of Cathy and the other women isn't based on any real concern but is actually based on his lustful obsession for them and fear over what these cases could mean for his long term career and family plans. 

This book has a very cynical view towards politics, justice, and the American system. That cynicism carries over to the end. For spoiler’s sake specific points won't be mentioned. Let's just say it doesn't end the way many mysteries and thrillers do. Instead it continues the cycle of powerful people doing horrible crimes to innocent people and facing no accountability for it. Everything gets swept under and covered by complacency, apathy, and insulating privilege. 

We want to believe that everyone is created equal but unfortunately some are born at the finish line and are able to influence everyone and everything else in their favor. Money, fame, and power often interfere with the actual pursuits of justice, equality, mercy, and compassion. That won't keep many from pursuing them and helping people to actually be seen as equal no matter their race, sexuality, gender identity, country of origin, faith, beliefs, or income status. Maybe then when we are truly seen as equal, justice can truly be met. 

Trigger Point (An Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Thriller Book 5) by Russ Colchamiro; Angela’s Latest Adventure Gets Very Very Up Close and Personal

 

Trigger Point (An Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Thriller Book 5) by Russ Colchamiro; Angela’s Latest Adventure Gets Very Very Up Close and Personal 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: If you are interested, please read my reviews of the previous volumes, Crackle and Fire, Fractured Lives,  and Hot Ash

The Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Thriller Series is no stranger to bringing us mesmerizing settings. The series explores the universe of Eternity, where various citizens do their part to help control, create, and repair the Universe. Everything from Patches who fix the tears in the Cosmos, to Designers who decide where the stars, planets, and galaxies are arranged, to the Minders who oversee the entire Universe and beyond, to detectives like Angela, who keep criminals off the spaceways and from messing with the order of the ‘Verse.

 It seemed like with Trigger Point, the fifth book in the series there was nowhere else for Angela to go. Well, Russ Colchamiro, the author, pulled a fast one on us. There was somewhere else to go. When the outside is explored most thoroughly, the best place to go is inside. Inside the mind of his lead character. Here Angela is at her most personal and angst ridden as she explores her latest adventure which puts those closest to her at risk.

Angela is recovering from her last case which resulted in the death of a friend and where she ended up demoted, in debt, and technically working under her former partner turned boss, Eric Whistler. She is definitely not in the mood for a new case but that’s what she gets. She is hired to uncover the mysterious death of a sex worker. Even worse, she finds that Whistler has gone missing, well most of him. He seems to be stuck somewhere in time and space and she can make out his faint image and hear cryptic garbled messages but doesn’t know where or possibly when he is. These cases become intertwined and lead Angela right into a conspiracy concerning the Patches, where her estranged lover, Eddie works and her young son, Owen is being trained. 

This is definitely the strongest Angela Hardwicke volume in terms of character development, much of it is laid at the feet of Angela herself. She often referred to parts of her past in previous books but this is where it really comes forward, particularly in chapters where she talks to her estranged parents (this is the first volume that I can recall where we actually learn that Angela even has parents.), 

We learn that Angela's sister died of cancer and they still feel the grief leading to Angela's father to withdraw from the family and she to embrace a darker side. She also became pregnant as a teenager ending with the death of her infant daughter. These losses caused Angela to become obsessed with her detective career. She couldn't protect herself from death but could protect other people and the Universe from it.

Angela is also haunted by nightmares and memories which she lives on the edge of the Universe can be more real than most on Earth. She has conversations with her late friend where she reveals her remorse and missteps in the previous case. 

She also bears a lot of guilt for what happened to Whistler. Not only for his current predicament but leading him into becoming a detective, acquiring an overdeveloped sense of justice, and having a reckless attitude in solving these cases. She isn't proud of how far Whistler has come. She's worried about what she turned him into and where this life will lead him.

Angela's tenderest moments are when she reunited with Eddie and Owen. It's heartwarming to see the normally hard boiled cynical badass Angela figuratively melt into a puddle of maternal goo when she and Owen are together. He's a sweet smart kid who brings out an innocent protective warmth within his mother. They may be separated but mother and son are still devoted to each other.

Angela and Eddie's relationship is no longer romantic but they are still amicable towards each other. Eddie actually has more interactions with Owen since they are both Patches so he has the loving ex and parental caretaker that is often reserved for female characters in most private detective novels. 

He worries about Owen but also his ex putting herself in danger but also knows his concerns will be dismissed. Even though Angela is romantically involved with Darren, a rock musician, she and Eddie have retained a friendship almost like surrogate siblings that defend one another and have each other's backs.

All of this development towards Angela's character is used in dramatic ways, particularly when she faces the antagonist in this book. There are hints that this character has been around since the first book, Crackle and Fire, and has five books worth of material to use against her and boy do they. It becomes a battle of wills in which Angela's own self worth and sanity are at stake as she faces this character.

If this book is not the last Angela Hardwicke book, I would be very surprised. There are a lot of hints that indicate this is a final volume or if not that, certainly a change in format and formula. Many of the long time subplots such as Angela’s messed up home life and her and Whistler’s statuses are altered considerably.

 Many characters come to some raw conclusions that indicate their journeys will be coming to an end or they will be in different places in the next volume. It's safe to say that Angela Hardwicke Science Fiction Thrillers will not be the same again.

The Fourth Victim (A Belfast Murder Mystery Book 7) by Brian O’Hare; Cold Case Gets Heated By Inspector Sheehan and Co.

 The Fourth Victim (Belfast Murder Mystery Book 7) by Brian O’Hare; Cold Case Gets Heated By Inspector Sheehan and Co.

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: If you are interested, please read my reviews for previous volumes Murder by the Coven, Murder on the Dark Web, Murder of a Runaway, and Conduit to Murder

 In Belfast, if you want a murder, new or old to be solved, then you call Inspector Thomas Sheehan and his team. In this seventh book in the Belfast Murder Mystery Series, The Fourth Victim, they do just that work on a current murder case which takes them to an old one.

In this volume, Sheehan and his partner, Detective Sergeant Denise Stewart are called into investigate the murder of Seamus Higgins, MLA who was beaten to death in his apartment. He has a very colorful past, as part of the New IRA and may have been targeted by them or members of other terrorist or paramilitary groups. Besides that, the team discovers that 14 years ago, he was involved with an unsolved murder concerning four wayward law students, a little girl, a grieving mother/attorney, and an errant vehicle.

This volume covers two specific murder cases, the current one and the one from 14 years ago. The investigation into Higgin’s death is efficiently handled especially when there are similar murders suggesting a pattern. There are some red herrings that are slightly hampered by a flashback occurring too early in the text for the Reader, but they provide some interesting leads for the investigators to uncover.

Unlike many of the other books in The Belfast Murder Mystery Series, this one doesn't get too involved with the personal lives of the investigation team themselves. The only subplot is Malachy McBride, one of the detectives, becoming a bit too friendly with a person of interest. It is charming but not overpowering leaving the mystery to do most of the heavy lifting.

In fact the strongest characterization occurs during the murder from 14 years ago. It's very reminiscent of movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer in which an early murder occurred, was never solved, and a grief stricken loved one takes it upon themselves to do what the law couldn't and execute vigilante justice even if it takes years to get it done.

The flashbacks contain a fascinating story that is the highlight of this volume. From the callous wayward self-serving youths who caused this tragedy to the family who found their motivation to fight against it either by latching onto a cause, trying to move forward with their lives, or seeking blood for blood, it is a strong look on the effect that murder has on the people involved. 

The Fourth Victim reminds us that sometimes time can change the way that we see an investigation and what we thought then may not be the same now. That often, a case is never really cold. It just takes a bit longer to heat up.