Tag Archives: murder

Review: Standoff, by Patricia Bradley

Standoff, by Patricia Bradley

Standoff, by Patricia Bradley (Revell, 2020)

Drug trafficking. Secrets. Murder. And romance. Standoff delivers all this and more.

Brooke Danvers is excited to follow her father John’s career path as a law enforcement ranger, but before she can be sworn in, John is found dead. Suddenly her childhood crush Luke Fereday is back on the scene, staying next door to her at his grandmother’s house. Luke can’t tell her that he’s working undercover to infiltrate the local drug ring—or that he blames himself for not being there to provide backup for John.

When the official verdict on John’s death is suicide, Brooke and Luke band together to prove it wrong and find the killer. Luke, meanwhile, is walking a dangerous line with the leader of the drug ring.

Luke’s grandmother, Daisy, has been a mentor to Brooke for years. I like her gentle support when Brooke is struggling with her father’s death:

“You may never get that answer,” she said softly. “But it’s okay to ask God why.” [Kindle location 1210]

As well as grief, suspense, romance, and faith, the novel also touches on identity and trust. And while readers know who some of the drug villains are, the identity of John’s murderer is a mystery for which there are a number of suspects.

I always enjoy Patricia Bradley’s novels. The suspense is strong but not overpowering and the characters’ relationships and their faith make them feel like real people.

The town of Natchez, Mississippi, and the 444-mile-long Natchez Trace Parkway are real places. The official US National Park site says the Parkway “roughly follows the ‘Old Natchez Trace,’ a historic travel corridor.” And “parkway” doesn’t just mean “highway”—the road goes through park land where people can bicycle, camp, etc.

The setting is a key part of the novel, and it’s well-rendered without that annoying travel-brochure feel that some authors give to real-life settings in their fiction. Still I wish I’d looked it up online first to have a better understanding. I think the word “trace” threw me off, because I’d never heard it applied to a road before.

Standoff is book 1 in Patricia Bradley’s new Natchez Park Rangers series. For more about the author and her books, visit ptbradley.com.

[Review copy provided by the publisher via #NetGalley. My opinions are my own.]

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Review: Hems & Homicide, by Elizabeth Penney

Hems & Homicide, The Apron Shop Series book 1, by Elizabeth Penney

Hems & Homicide, by Elizabeth Penney (St. Martin’s, 2020)

Iris Buckley and her recently-widowed grandmother, Anne, are a good team. Add Quincy, a marmalade cat who thinks he’s the real boss, and their Ruffles & Bows shop could be a hit. If the skeleton they find in the cellar of their building doesn’t stop their grand opening plans.

Welcome to Blueberry Cove, Maine: a quiet, tourist town where everyone knows everyone’s business. Or at least they thought they did—someone may be a secret murderer.

Iris is a skilled seamstress with a special interest in vintage linens and designs. (Be prepared, “vintage” can mean 1960’s!) I appreciate how it’s her grandmother, Anne, who’s the more knowledgeable about online security.

Iris has been back in town for a few months and has reconnected with good friends from school. Also back is her high school crush, Ian Stewart, who’ll be doing the renovations on the new shop.

Hems & Homicide is book 1 in the Apron Shop Series, and it’s a clean cozy mystery in a charming setting. I enjoyed the descriptions of the rural landscape outside of town. As you’d expect with a main character who’s skilled with fabrics, descriptions often focus on colours and textiles. And as Iris and Anne investigate the long-ago death, Iris gets a peek at Anne’s life as a young woman. 

This is a fun read, and a good start to a new series. Book 2, Thread and Dread, releases later in 2020. For more about Elizabeth Penney, visit elizabethpenneyauthor.com.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: Belinda Blake and the Birds of a Feather, by Heather Day Gilbert

Belinda Blake and the Birds of a Feather, by Heather Day Gilbert (Lyrical Underground Books, 2020)

Homing pigeons are less dangerous than the wolves she had as a previous assignment, but Belinda Blake still finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation—this time in her hometown of Larches Corner in Upstate New York. And is there a connection between the present investigation and the previous death of a young college student?

Along with the mystery, Belinda is still trying to choose between her rich landlord Stone Carrington the fifth, and her childhood neighbour, rock-solid farmer Jonas Hawthorne.

Appealing characters, intriguing mysteries, and exotic pets. What’s not to like? I’ve enjoyed each book in the series, but this one gets my vote for most unexpected solution.

For more about Heather Day Gilbert and her books, visit heatherdaygilbert.com.

[I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.]