Book Review: Love is Murder by Sandra Brown

This is a fantastic book! Love is Murder is a compilation of 29 stories selected by Sandra Brown in the "romance suspense" genre, romantic stories with a terror twist or vice versa. Some of these authors were very familiar - like Lee Child - while others were new. Of the 29, 20 were my favorites. I know, I know!

The most brilliant story of them all is Diamond Drop by Roxanne St. Claire. It is a short story about her series Bullet Catchers, an elite protection organization. The main character in Diamond Drop is Donovan Rush. He is a courier for diamonds from Antwerp, Belgium to Paris, France. He must deliver diamonds for a new client, Boisvert Jewelers. The story is smart and fast-paced with a twist at the end.

Oh, there is the Hot Note by Patricia Rosemoor. In Love is Murder, Patricia writes a short story regarding her series about Shelley Caldwell, a homicide detective in Chicago, Illinois. Caldwell must solve supernatural mysteries, along with her half-vampire/half-human boyfriend.

And, definitely do not miss the Black Ops, Inc. series by Cindy Gerard!  Black Ops, Inc. is a private security and espionage firm. Her short story is Dying to Score about a reconnaissance mission in Central Guatemala by Crystal Debrowski Reed a/k/a "Tinkerbelle" and her husband Johnny Duane Reed, along with Luke Colter a/k/a "Doc Holliday" and Gabe Jones a/k/a "The Archangel." Johnny is seriously wounded in the shoulder, and Tink and her companions must extract Johnny before they are overrun by mercenaries of a Mexican drug cartel.

I am usually not a fan of compilation books. This one, however, is the exception. I really hope you read Love is Murder. Two thumbs' up!

P.S. I cannot wait to give my list of "new" authors to my sister Julie. She feeds my library addiction. (Thank goodness!)

Book Review: Die Trying (Jack Reacher, No. 2) by Lee Child

Lee Child broke my heart. Ripped it right out of my chest and shredded it into little pieces. At least, that's how I felt after reading Die Trying (Jack Reacher, No. 2). Yes, I'll explain. But first, the basics.....

Jack Reacher was a Major in the Army military police. (Read The Affair to discover why Reacher left the Army). After a life of growing up on Marine bases and then 27 years in the Army, he decides to freelance.... be a hobo.... a traveling man. His parents and brother are dead, so he has no ties to any particular place. He wanders across America.

In Die Trying, Reacher is in Chicago for a few days. He's walking along a sidewalk when a young woman exits a dry-cleaners. She previously injured her knee so she's having difficulty with balancing her dry-cleaning, pushing the door open, and hanging onto her cane. Reacher stops to help. Immediately, three guys surround them and kidnap the young woman - Reacher too. The young woman is FBI Agent Holly Johnson.

The short version of the story is Reacher and Holly's travel to the kidnappers' compound and their potential escape. Of course, there are more plot twists but I never want to tell too much. The book started off slowly for me, and I'm not even sure why. It's a good Reacher story. As usual, he beats up the bad guys and saves the damsel in distress.

Spoiler alert: But, how did Lee Child rip my heart out? Because in all the Reacher books I've read, this is the first and only book that Reacher falls in love with the girl..... but, she loves somebody else! She walks away from him in the end, and he is devastated. Of course, she had to leave him because it is only the second book that Lee Child wrote and Reacher is a traveling man so he could not stay with her, but still..... I was so upset at the end. "It wasn't the end of the world. Just felt like it." Poor, poor Jack.

Book Review: One Shot (Jack Reacher, No. 9) by Lee Child

Yes, friends, I'm chatting about yet another Jack Reacher novel. My favorite series at the moment. I just finished One Shot (Jack Reacher, No. 9) by Lee Child. More breathtaking, heart-pumping action!

First of all, let's get one thing straight - I'm NOT watching Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher in the movie One Shot. Jack Reacher is 6'5" and 250 lbs. Tom Cruise is 5'7" - need I say more? Casting should have picked a big musclely hunk, like 6'4" Dwayne Johnson (The Rock). Yeah, Baby! Dwayne would definitely be a believable Jack Reacher, headbutting or throwing an elbow into somebody's face. Now that's what I'm talking about!

Reacher is in Miami when he sees a TV news report about a sniper killing five people in Indianapolis. He recognizes the name of the killer from his old Army days as a military cop. So, Reacher travels via bus to Indiana. At the same time, the suspected killer tells the police that they've arrested the wrong man and he wants Jack Reacher. Interesting....

This was another "I can't stop reading," "I can't put this book down," type of novel. It's filled without lots of Reacher action and good storytelling. What's supposed to be a slam dunk case against the killer turns out to be riddled with holes. [Pun intended.] Only Reacher can put all the clues together and solve this baffling case. And, he does. But first, Reacher must avoid the police on a trumped-up murder charge.

This is in my top three favorite Reacher books....right now, it's resting at #2. Yeah, I really enjoyed this book. More genius by Lee Child - keep 'em coming!

Book Review: The Hard Way (Jack Reacher, No. 10) by Lee Child

Wow. The Hard Way (Jack Reacher, No. 10) by Lee Child was exceptional, even among the Jack Reacher novels. It was heart-stopping. 

Reacher witnesses part of a kidnapping, the payment. He decides to investigate the missing wife and step-daughter of a multi-million dollar husband. But, there's a twist and you're not sure who are actually the good guys....the husband and his band of soldiers-for-hire or the kidnappers.

Whenever you read The Hard Way make sure you have plenty of uninterrupted time for the last 10-15 chapters. Holy smokes!! When you find out who the bad guy really is you find out he's really, really evil. Maniacal. "Borderline mentally ill, people had said. Crossed that border long ago, Reacher thought." And, the Reacher action reaches a fever pitch. At one point I was heard shouting - out loud - "Oh no, hurry!"  

I saw a t-shirt "What Would Reacher Do?" I know....The Hard Way. I'm going to gather the family around for a ten-thumbs' salute to this book. Extraordinary.

Book Review: Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher, No. 13) by Lee Child

What's truly amazing about Lee Child's books is that he reaches out and drags you into the book on the very first sentence. Masterful. "Suicide bombers are easy to spot." Hook, line, sinker. From the first sentence, I can't put a Jack Reacher novel down. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please keep your arms and legs inside the moving vehicle at all times." You know something good is coming! 

Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed another of Lee Child's novels - Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher, No. 13). It starts with that first sentence.... "Suicide bombers are easy to spot." and just progresses from there. I just finished it. My heart is still palpitating.

Reacher witnesses the suicide of a woman on a subway in New York. From there, he is drawn into a world of politics and terrorism. But, Reacher only cares about the truth behind the woman's death, and then taking care of the killers that drove her to it. I like when Reacher has to go up against multiple enemies at once. Like, 22 vs 1. With only 30 bullets. Wicked cool. Of course, at the same time he has to dodge 600 federal agents who want him arrested.

Lee Child is true genius. He makes facts about subway cars in New York interesting. Seriously. Another don't miss book by Child. I wish I could give it more than two thumb's up, but I've only got two thumbs...... I highly recommend it.

Book Review: Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, No. 1) by Lee Child

I've read a few of Lee Child's books before, but out of order. I waited weeks for Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, No. 1) from the library, so I finally bought it for my Kindle. So glad I did. However, before I tell you about Killing Floor, I want to tell you about two other Jack Reacher stories you should read first.

Killing Floor was published in 1997. In 2011, Child published two prequels -- The Second Son and The Affair.  The Second Son is a short story about Jack Reacher when he was a 13-year-old boy. His father had just been transferred to Okinawa, Japan in 1974 for a top-secret Marine mission. Reacher stands up to the neighborhood bully and solves his father military crisis. It's a great example of the tough, yet intelligent character. The Affair is the catalyst for Reacher's leaving the Army and becoming a wanderer (or hobo as Jack calls himself). These two books totally set up the adventures of Reacher's character and why.


Killing Floor was the first Jack Reacher novel published (1997). It won lots of well-deserved awards. If you've read any other Reacher novel, then you'll know that Jack's older brother Joe is killed while working for the Treasury Department. Killing Floor is that story. There's not many novels I could put above this one. It was that excellent. As always, I don't want to give away too much of the story. Then, why read the book?


Reacher is on his way to Margrave, Georgia to learn about a deceased legendary guitar player (Blind Blake). Reacher discovers that his brother was killed in the line of duty in Margrave. Reacher was always Joe's keeper, always protecting his brother while they were growing up. Of course, Reacher takes the death of his brother very hard. And, Reacher isn't going to stop until he finds his brother's killers.

Awesome. Brilliant. I highly recommend Killing Floor (Jack Reacher, No. 1) by Lee Child.