Category Archives: Mystery

June 20, 2011 · 6:33 am

Dangerous Desire by Diane Escalera

Title: Dangerous Desire*
Author: Diane Escalera
Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary Romace
Publisher: Lyrical Press, Inc.
Format: ebook
Date/Year: July 2011

*This book was (provided to me by the publisher for review)

Summary from the publisher:

Sometimes you have to lose one thing to find another.

Sienna Diaz is desperate to find her missing Beagle, no matter what it costs. She hires Cruz
Santino, the best—and hottest—in the business. He’s an ex cop, dangerous on many levels, which comes in handy when all evidence indicates her beloved pet was snatched to use in a dogfighting ring.

Cruz will do whatever it takes to find Sienna’s lost pet, but he also wants results from the
smokin’ hot attraction between them—and he isn’t above breaking his own hands-off-clients rule
to get there. However, until he brings her beloved Beagle home safely, he won’t have Sienna’s
undivided attention…and affection.

Content Warning: Strong language, caliente sex, violence, and a dangerously hot rescue.

My Musings:

When I first started this book, I was concerned I would not be able to finish it. I am an animal lover and dog fighting is part of the plot line. Fortunately, it is not too graphic in that area and definitely represents the evils of the “sport.”

The sex, however, is graphic . . . and hot. There is a plot to the story, so it is not just one sex scene after another. I particularly enjoyed the scenes where Sienna tries to check Cruz out without him noticing. It never seemed to work. Whenever, she looked at him, she caught him looking at her. He was most definitely an ass man while she drooled over his chest and abs. I have to say, they way they were described, I would be drooling too.

What I did not like is the fact that they immediately fell in bed with each other. Sienna has just lost her dog that she considers her child. She is distraught and heartbroken. There are several scenes where she breaks down in tears. I completely understand her emotions. Then a few scenes later, she is laughing and partying with her friends or making out with Cruz. I just didn’t find it believable.

I liked the book well enough that I would probably read a sequel. The ending of the book hinted at one. I did not like it enough to add this author to my autobuy list.

Ratings:

Overall: 3

Sensuality level: 4

For a complete understanding and definition of the ratings at Seductive Musings, click here

CROSSPOSTED FROM SEDUCTIVE MUSINGS

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Filed under Contemporary, Mystery, Realistic, Romance

June 8, 2011 · 10:37 am

Sizzling Sixteen (Stephanie Plum, #16) by Janet Evanovich

Trenton, New Jersey, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has inherited a “lucky” bottle from her Uncle Pip. Problem is, Uncle Pip didn’t specify if the bottle brought good luck or bad luck. . . .

BAD LUCK:

Vinnie, of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, has run up a gambling debt of $786,000 with mobster Bobby Sunflower and is being held until the cash can be produced. Nobody else will pay to get Vinnie back, leaving it up to Stephanie, office manager Connie, and file clerk Lula to raise the money if they want to save their jobs.

GOOD LUCK:

Being in the business of tracking down people, Stephanie, Lula, and Connie have an advantage in finding Vinnie. If they can rescue him, it will buy them some time to raise the cash.

BAD LUCK:

Finding a safe place to hide Vinnie turns out to be harder than raising $786,000. Vinnie’s messing up Mooner’s vibe, running up pay-per-view porn charges in Ranger’s apartment, and making Stephanie question genetics.

GOOD LUCK:

Between a bonds office yard sale that has the entire Burg turning out, Mooner’s Hobbit-Con charity event, and Uncle Pip’s lucky bottle, they just might raise enough money to save the business, and Vinnie, from ruin.

BAD LUCK:

Saving Vincent Plum Bail Bonds means Stephanie can keep being a bounty hunter. In Trenton, this involves hunting down a man wanted for polygamy, a turnpike toilet paper bandit, and a drug dealer with a pet alligator named Mr. Jingles.

GOOD LUCK:

The job of bounty hunter comes with perks in the guise of Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, and the dark and dangerous security expert, Ranger. With any luck at all, Uncle Pip’s lucky bottle will have Stephanie getting lucky—the only question is . . . with whom?

I read this the first time when it was released last year. Since the new book is coming out this month, I decided it was time for a re-read.

All of the great characters are here: Grandma Mazur, Joe, Ranger, Lula, and even Mooner. Mooner makes some great cookies.

I think my favorite quote is “You know what your problem is? You got too many scruples. One or two scruples is okay, but you get too many of them, and it clogs everything up.” (Lula, p. 157)

This book ends not with a cliffhanger, but definitely so that you know it is about to go in a different direction. I can’t wait for #17.

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Filed under Contemporary, Humor, Mystery, Realistic, Romance

June 7, 2011 · 8:10 am

Phoenix Rising (Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, #1) by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

Purchased

Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade . . . and a librarian.

These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences—the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling—will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her bulletproof corset and a disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest . . . and she’s prepared to drag her timorous new partner, Wellington Books, along with her into the perilous fray.

For a malevolent brotherhood is operating in the deepening London shadows, intent upon the enslavement of all Britons. And Books and Braun—he with his encyclopedic brain and she with her remarkable devices—must get to the twisted roots of a most nefarious plot . . . or see England fall to the Phoenix!

I love the idea of steampunk, although I have not read that much of it. Mostly, I’m hooked on Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series.

In this book, which is the beginning of a new series, there is a division of England’s secret service that investigates “peculiar occurrences.” Welly is the Archivist, not librarian he is quick to remind you, and Eliza is a field agent. Due to a few less than quiet activities she has been involved in, she is reassigned to work in the archives with Welly.

I love the fact that a good bit of the book takes place in the archives cataloging the cases. I love that Eliza is the physically dangerous partner, although Welly has secret strengths. I love the fact that the villains are villains without any shades of gray.

As a matter of fact, I love this entire book.

And there is something about the Archives that reminds me of the television show Warehouse 13 which I also love.

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Filed under Historical, Mystery, Steampunk

May 29, 2011 · 10:15 am

The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford

Library

Christopher just needed a job to kill time the summer after high school graduation. He didn’t expect it to be in the morgue. Or that he would accidentally discover a murder cover-up. Or that his discovery would lead him to a full-blown investigation involving bribery, kidnappings, more murders . . . and his best friend. And he certainly could never have predicted that Tina—loud, insanely hot, ambitious newspaper reporter Tina—would be his partner. But all of that did happen. And Christopher’s life will never be the same.

With plenty of plot twists, red herrings, and dry wit, The Morgue and Me is a page-turning modern take on the classic detective genre. (from Goodreads)

This is the first of the YA books I have read for the summer. It is a nominee for this year’s Georgia Peach Award and definitely a good start.

Christopher (not Chris) is a classic example of “curiosity killed the cat” and “being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He took the job in the morgue because he wanted to be a spy when he grew up. He figured he could learn something about forensic pathology while he was there.

When the first dead body arrives, he sneaks a look at the corpse after everyone has left and discovers that there is no way the guy died by suicide. So why did the coroner write up the death certificate that way . . . and where did all the money come from?

There are numerous possible suspects and I did not figure out all the twists and turns until the end. To me, that makes a good mystery.

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Filed under Contemporary, Mystery, Realistic, Young Adult

May 26, 2011 · 2:21 pm

Cryoburn (Vorkosigan, #14) by Lois McMaster Bujold

Miles Vorkosigan is back!

Kibou-daini is a planet obsessed with cheating death. Barrayaran Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan can hardly disapprove—he’s been cheating death his whole life, on the theory that turnabout is fair play. But when a Kibou-daini cryocorp—an immortal company whose job it is to shepherd its all-too-mortal frozen patrons into an unknown future—attempts to expand its franchise into the Barrayaran Empire, Emperor Gregor dispatches his top troubleshooter Miles to check it out.

On Kibou-daini, Miles discovers generational conflict over money and resources is heating up, even as refugees displaced in time skew the meaning of generation past repair. Here he finds a young boy with a passion for pets and a dangerous secret, a Snow White trapped in an icy coffin who burns to re-write her own tale, and a mysterious crone who is the very embodiment of the warning Don’t mess with the secretary. Bribery, corruption, conspiracy, kidnapping—something is rotten on Kibou-daini, and it isn’t due to power outages in the Cryocombs. And Miles is in the middle—of trouble!

This book is so MILES! Watching people react to him in generally a stunned manner is hysterical. This is the last book, so far, in the series and I truly enjoyed it. I wish I had some idea when the next book was coming out.

The little boy really appealed to me with his love for animals. He was more concerned with them than he was with anything else, even when there were kidnappings going on around him.

There is one thing that happens that although I almost saw it coming, I hated it. I still want the next book, but . . .

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Filed under Mystery, Science Fiction

May 25, 2011 · 2:35 pm

The Unbearable Lightness of Dragons (Light Dragons, #2) by Katie MacAlister

Ysolde Bouchier is still coming to terms with the dragon part of her, while at the same time trying to free a friend of Baltic-her Black Dragon lover-from the weyr, get Baltic to meet with the dragons who want him dead, rescue a half-dragon damsel in over her head, raise the shade of the man everyone says killed her, and once and for all clear Baltic’s name of the murder charges that continue to plague him.

For Ysolde, being a dragon is starting to bite.

I had to re-read Love in the Time of Dragons before reading the new book. It’s a good thing I did because I would have never been able to follow the story otherwise.

The best part of this book is the inclusion of characters from previous dragon series. Jim, the demon dog, plays a fairly large part. And yes, I said demon dog.

Although the ending is not a cliff hanger, it definitely leaves a lot of loose ends. I should have waited for the entire trilogy to be published before reading any of them.

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Filed under Contemporary, Humor, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance

April 24, 2011 · 7:44 am

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls, #1) by Deborah Harkness

A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

This book has amazing depth and a story that pulls you in from the very first. Although there are numerous characters, they are so well developed that I never forgot who each one was.

There is definitely a sequel coming (date unknown), but the ending is solid. I am a little worried about Matthew though in the next book. Can’t say why without spoiling it, so you’ll have to read it yourself.

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Filed under Contemporary, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance

April 21, 2011 · 5:17 am

Quicksilver (Looking Glass, #2; Arcane Society, #11) by Amanda Quick

Virginia Dean wakes at midnight beside a dead body, with a bloody knife in her hand and no memory of the evening’s events. Dark energy, emanating from the mirrors lining the room, overpowers her senses. With no apparent way in or out, she is rescued by a man she has met only once before, but won’t soon forget….

Owen Sweetwater inherited his family’s talent for hunting the psychical monsters who prey on London’s women and children, and his investigation into the deaths of two glass-readers has led him here. The high-society types of the exclusive Arcane Society would consider her an illusionist, a charlatan, even a criminal, but Owen knows better. Virginia’s powers are real – and they just might be the key to solving this challenging case. (from Goodreads)

Let me just say, romance, paranormal, Regency (or close enough) . . . what’s not to like. Add to that, this book is written by Amanda Quick (AKA Jayne Ann Krentz and the book has to be a winner. It is.

Owen is one of my favorite heroes in a long time. He does not have a hidden agenda, except he knows from the beginning that Virginia is the woman for him. He just doesn’t understand how she doesn’t know it too.

One of these days I am going to read the Arcane books straight through. Of course, I also need to include the Eclipse books because they are woven into the storyline as well.

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Filed under Historical, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance

February 26, 2011 · 7:30 am

Treachery in Death (Eve Dallas, #32) by J. D. Robb

Purchased

But Peabody soon stumbles upon a trickier situation. After a hard workout, she’s all alone in the locker room when the gym door clatters open; and-while hiding inside a shower stall trying not to make a sound-she overhears two fellow officers, Garnet and Oberman, arguing. It doesn’t take long to realize they’re both crooked-guilty not just of corruption but of murder. Now Peabody, Eve, and Eve’s husband, Roarke, are trying to get the hard evidence they need to bring the dirty cops down-knowing all the while that the two are willing to kill to keep their secret. (from Goodreads)

I wasn’t sure I was in the mood for this book, but I normally love the Eve Dallas series, so I gave it a try. I am so glad I did. This one was even better than normal. Although you know who the bad guy is from the beginning, the search for evidence was fascinating.

Another plus for this book is that some books in this series are very graphic in the horrors the victims experience. This one did not dwell on that aspect which I certainly appreciate.

It’s funny that I don’t normally read Nora Roberts’ (J. D. Robb’s real name) books. I have read some and enjoyed them, but they are definitely not on my “must read” list. I never miss an Eve Dallas book though.

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Filed under Mystery, Romance, Science Fiction

February 12, 2011 · 4:30 am

Fragile (Rafferty, #1) by Shiloh Walker

Six years after trading in his combat gear for hospital scrubs, Luke Rafferty is faced with things just as heartbreaking as those on the battlefield. The abused children being brought in by the pretty redheaded social worker tug at his soul like nothing he’s ever known.

For Devon Manning, being a social worker is a rewarding job, but also a constant reminder of her own troubled youth. Devon takes everything one day at a time-unable to form a relationship with anyone except the children she rescues.

When Luke meets Devon, he thinks he might have found what he’s been looking for, but in order to get the life he wants, Luke has to break through Devon’s emotional barriers and make her realize that his healing touch might be just the complication her life needs… (from Goodreads)

I did not read this book when it was originally released because I felt the subject matter would be too depressing. Although I like Shiloh Walker, I decided to give it a miss. However, when its sequel came out my interest was renewed. I am so glad I read this one and I am even more glad I waited. The two books really need to be read back-to-back.

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Filed under Contemporary, Erotica, Mystery, Realistic, Romance