A Nose for Mischief

Finished March 6

A Nose for Mischief by K.T. Lee

This is the first book in the Riverbend K-9s series. Zoey Butler was a materials engineer working on a renewable energy project for Future State Energy in Denver when the FBI came in, charging the company with fraud. Zoey spent a lot of time helping investigators find answers, and then decided to leave the company. But with the company reputation what it is, she finds herself unable to even get an interview. She reaches out to the main FBI investigator, Alexis, and asks if there is any opening with them. She is offered an unpaid intern position at Alexis's division of K-9 training in Riverbend, Indiana, which is located at an old airport. It includes accommodation at an apartment in the small town. Zoey is paired with Liam, one of the trainers, with his dog, Tank. She is assigned a rescue dog, Tasha, that didn't meld well with its original trainer, and she finds the job interesting and is drawn to both the small town camaraderie and Liam. 

When her apartment back in Denver that she shares with her sister Elise is broken into and tossed, she is worried for her sister, and asks whether there is still something the FBI didn't learn about Future State Energy's activities. After some discussion with Alexis, she offers to take the job she's repeatedly been offered back at her old company and look for answers. Liam will be accompanying her as an undercover agent, posing as an entry level project manager. The two rent a house and pose as a couple for the purposes of this. 

As the two and their dogs become a real team, she and Liam become close, but the investigation at the company heats up as well as corporate espionage and possible sabotage.

I enjoyed the characters, particularly Zoey with her quick intelligence, and the engaging dog Tasha. 

The Housewife Assassin's Handbook

Finished September 23

The Housewife Assassin's Handbook by Josie Brown

First, you need to know that this book, and the series that it begins is farce, with great humorous moments. Donna Stone is a suburban housewife. The day her third child is born is also the day that she learns that her husband was undercover FBI and was killed by a car bomb. His boss is the one that informs her and asks her not to let anyone else know he is dead. So she spins stories about him being away on business trips. Donna is involved in all the usual suburban mother activities, PTA and driving kids to their various activities. As she begins to think about how she will manage without her husband's income, his boss suggests that she might be cut out to be an agent herself. 

After training, she takes on the role of a not very bright, but sexy woman in many of her agent roles. But things change when another agent, Jack, who has a reputation for being a player, shows up at her house impersonating her husband Carl. As her fellow housewives swoon over 'Carl', she tries not to resent him for gaining the trust and adoration of her children, and for making moves on her. 

But as the pair becomes involved in dealing a fatal blow to the criminal organization that supposedly killed her husband, things become trickier and it is harder to separate fact from fiction. 

Each chapter begins with a housewife tip that has an edge at the end. The scenes have lots of action and suspense, and the body count damage is mostly offscreen. 

I enjoyed this for the farcical aspects, and it reminded me of some of the action shows of my youth (such as Remington Steele). A fun read. 

Abandoned

Finished June 1

Abandoned by Cody McFadyen

This is the fourth book in a series, but the first one I've read. The main character in the series is FBI agent Smoky Barrett, who has already been through some difficult situations, where she was kidnapped, raped, and tortured, and her husband and daughter were killed. Here, she is at the wedding of a fellow agent, when a car driving by the outdoor wedding venue slows down and pushes a woman out of the car. She is in bad shape, wearing only a nightgown and very thin with her head shaved. 

The wedding guests spring into action as most of them are either police or FBI. The woman is obviously traumatized and she doesn't respond to questions, so they use other methods to track down her identity. Which leads them to some very interesting new questions. 

As usual with serious cases, they also look for other similar crimes, and find some that fit. As Smoky digs deeper, she also puts herself at risk. She has extra security on her adopted daughter, and her husband is also in the law enforcement business, but this criminal is tricky and seems organized and dispassionate about the effect on their victims. 

This was a fast-paced read, with tense situations and life-changing outcomes for any victims that are released. The plotline was interesting, and there are parts where we see how the criminal was formed by their upbringing. There is also a secondary plotline with a potential job change for Smoky, and we get to see into the personal lives of many of the characters, something that brings depth to the characters. 

Jack and Joe

Finished April 20

Jack and Joe by Diane Capri 

This is the third full novel in the Hunt for Reacher series which follows FBI agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar as they hunt down information on Jack Reacher. They have become aware by now that they haven't been told the real reason behind their case, and they are also aware there is some sort of rivalry around it between their boss and one of the highest ranking political advisers in the country. So, while they are pawns of a sort, they are thinking pawns and occasionally make moves that take them in directions that lead places that advance their knowledge in ways their boss may not always want. 

Here, Kim is off to interview a woman who worked for Reacher and took over a case when he was demoted. She wants to find out more particulars around that case and the cause of the demotion. She travels to an army base in North Carolina, Fort Bird, but her interviewee doesn't get there as expected and she ends up finding new information possibilities, as well as a family that isn't fans of the man she's looking for information on. 

As she and Gaspar reconnect and dig deeper into this time, they find connections to Jack's brother Joe and begin to learn more about him, his friends, and a woman who meant a lot to him. 

An interesting book, but the travel that happens in this series gets tiring after a while. Another plane, another rental car, another antacid. I like the slow plot development though. 

Jack in the Green

Finished March 12

Jack in the Green by Diane Capri

This novella continues the series Hunt for Reacher, where FBI agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar search for information on Jack Reacher. Having had little luck trying to get information from those close to Reacher, this installment has them connecting with someone who has had a run-in with Reacher during his Army days. Retired colonel Thomas Weston is back at a Florida base for a memorial service, and the FBI agents have been given a directive to ask him some questions, just before other FBI agents arrest him. 

Weston was investigated for being responsible for the killing of his entire family, but the evidence wasn't found to convict him. 

Otto and Gaspar aren't sure if this meeting is a set-up to trap Reacher or not, and they can't figure out why Weston would return to the U.S. at this time. When things go wrong, as is usual in this series, they really go wrong, and we get to see a little of Tampa while they do.

This novel also brings in characters from Capri's other series, including Judge Willa Carson, lawyer Jennifer Lane, and reporter Jessica Kimball. 

I enjoyed the varied pace of this one, and the glimpse of some other interesting characters. 

Get Back Jack

Finished March 2

Get Back Jack by Diane Capri

This is the second novel in the series Hunt for Reacher, where FBI agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar are on an off-the-books case to discover more about Jack Reacher as part of a supposed background check. Here, there are trying to talk to the surviving members of his core team from his army days. There aren't a lot of them left, and they find that suspicious in and of itself. When they arrive at the office of one of them and find a crime scene being processed, they get worried about the remaining members of the team. 

This book features one of my favourite recurring characters from the Reacher novels, Frances Neagley, a woman that he often relies on for assistance, but who also has her own issues. 

We actually get a deeper glimpse into her life here, and also find that Otto and Gaspar encounter move danger than they expected. When women and children connected to Reacher are kidnapped as leverage against some of the members of Reacher's team, Otto and Gaspar find themselves teaming up with Neagley and learning a little more about Reacher. 

I enjoyed how this book, brought in characters from Child's books, but let us see a different aspect of them. I'm enjoying this series. 

Hidden

Finished February 27

Hidden by Rebecca Zanetti

This romantic suspense novel is the first book in a series that is centered around a small unorthodox group of government agents. There are two main characters. Pippa is a woman with a past that she fears will one day catch up with her. Malcolm was an undercover cop who is drafted into the small government team early in this novel. When Malcolm moves into the house that shares a yard with Pippa's it doesn't take long for them to notice each other, but they are both wary for their own reasons. 

The team Malcolm is drafted onto is made up of misfits, people who have traumas, and many have interesting quirks. 

Pippa has a job where she can work from home and interacts with others rarely. She has one woman that she meets from time to time and we learn gradually just how they know each other. Just as we learn the life that Pippa has fled, and what she has left behind.

We also learn about Malcolm's past and why he ended up where he is now. 

There are some formulaic elements to this story, and a few things that seem unlikely as plot devices, but the story is a fast-moving one, with elements of violence and sex in small doses. 

I picked up the book to meet a reading challenge, trying out an author that was new to me. 

Jack and Kill

Finished February 12

Jack and Kill by Diane Capri

This is another short story in the series Hunt for Reacher, and this one immediately follows Jack in a Box. Gaspar has heard of a sighting of Reacher in the tiny town of New Hope, Virginia, and now the two FBI agents, Gaspar and Otto are travelling there to see what they can find.

When they arrive, they find traffic moving slowly due to what appears to be a road accident where one vehicle has rear-ended another, but the local police seem to be expecting agency staff, and they soon see why. 

The two agents are able to access video showing them what happened, and this gives them a real glimpse of their quarry, Reacher, in action. Someone else they have met recently soon arrives on the scene as well, and the two are left with new questions. like why did Reacher return to this town and get involved in this situation. 

A nicely done story that gives us a sense of the difficult case the two agents have. 

Jack in a Box

Finished February 12

Jack in a Box by Diane Capri

This is a short story in the series Hunt for Reacher, where FBI agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar are on a case looking for information about Jack Reacher. This story takes place after the first book in the series, Don't Know Jack, and both agents are digging back into physical records, but separately. 

Kim gets a message to go to her father's hometown in Wisconsin to see her grandmother who ill in the hospital there. This gives us a window into her personal life. We see how her father's side of the family, German in heritage, had not taken well to his marriage to his marriage to a Vietnamese woman, and so he's moved to Michigan, where Kim grew up. The family dynamic is interesting, with the family acknowledging her while also keeping their distance. Besides her grandmother, the only person she really interacted with is a cousin, Lothar, who is in the army, and who surprises her near the end of her visit. 

Carlos gets a message that takes him to D.C. from his Miami home, but he is anxious about his own family, with four daughters that keep things hopping and a son on the way. We don't get as much information about the dynamics here as we do with Kim, but the hints keep it interesting. 

As the two approach the place and time they've been led to, they are given a message regarding their case. 

I liked the background this story gave, which enhanced the series for me. 

Don't Know Jack

Finished February 9

Don't Know Jack by Diane Capri

I was interested when I heard about the series Hunt for Reacher, and borrowed this first book from my local library. I read it very quickly, wanting to know how it unfolded. 

The book starts with two FBI agents, Kim Otto, from the Detroit office, and Carlos Gaspar from the Miami office, being woken in the wee hours and sent on a discreet mission, meant to be off the books. They are supposed to find out as much as they can about Jack Reacher, but they are provided with very little. They are told to go to Margrave, Georgia, by a certain time, and for readers of the Jack Reacher novels, like me, this small town will immediately ring some bells. 

In Margrave, they find a female police chief, who seems like she knows more about Jack than she'd saying, but their search is interrupted when the chief is called about a murder, and they accompany her to the scene. They find a long-dead cop, a oddly calm and reticent killer, and a house that looks almost abandoned. 

As they try to pierce together the story, and make a mistake or two of their own, they find themselves under fire, mixing with questionable company, and taking way more flights than Otto is comfortable with. 

I liked both the main characters, and enjoyed seeing how their backstories unfolded, in small pieces. They both have a sense of humour and soon find a rhythm of communication that feels fun, yet not forced. They are both good agents, but their lack of knowledge creates an interesting dynamic where the reader knows more about Jack than they do. 

They're pretty sure he's a bad guy, who's killed many people after leaving the army, and this assumption means that they suspect him every time they find a crime. 

I'm definitely going to be reading more of this series to see where their search leads them, and what they learn along the way.  

Better Off Dead

Finished November 2

Better Off Dead by Lee Child and Andrew Child

The book opens with a man that seems to be Reacher waiting for a rendezvous near the Mexican border. When the car that approaches him has more people than he expects, and he finds himself up against four men, some of them with weapons, we know that things might go badly. As this prelude ends, the man is in a morgue and we are left hanging.

We go back to two days earlier, where Reacher is approaching a town near the Texas border when he comes across a Jeep that appears to have been in an accident. When he approaches the vehicle, he is surprised to have a weapon aimed at him. As he backs off when they hear another vehicle approach, and witnesses a deadly encounter, he finds himself wondering just what is going on. 

He finds himself drawn into a woman's search for her missing twin brother, both of them military veterans. She gets him up to speed quickly on the situation, but she might not be telling him everything, and he keeps pushing as things move along to ensure he's not missing anything important. 

He comes up with a plan to get the man behind it all, but unexpected people, events, and devices come along to alter what Reacher has to deal with.

As always, a fast-moving plot, with lots of action, suspense and interesting characters. 

The Chase

Finished August 31

The Chase by DiAnn Mills

This FBI thriller has two main characters.

Kariss Walker is a former television journalist turned novelist. She's written several successful women's fiction novels, but dreams of writing about her true passion, finding justice for those unable to do so themselves. She is haunted by an experience in her past where she was unable to protect someone vulnerable. One case she covered as a journalist was of a young girl, whose body was found, malnourished near an apartment complex. The girl's identity was never determined. This is the case that she plans to base her novel on.

Kariss has gained access to follow an FBI agent to get background information on the world she plans to write about. The agent is Tigo Harris. He has many years of experience, including undercover work, and is currently involved in a case involving gangs smuggling drugs and guns. 

When Kariss is able to get the case reopened, she and the FBI find new evidence that points to the child's identity, and perhaps to new crimes. 

Tigo is very close to his mother, who is dying from a cancer, and this element impacts how he lives his life and sets his priorities. 

Kariss makes a lot of questionable decisions putting her own safety into jeopardy. 

Both characters have families who are strong church goers, but both have distanced themselves from religion. The Christian element in this book is subtle until the end, when it suddenly becomes more evident. 

Murder List

Finished December 11
Murder List by Julie Garwood

This romantic suspense novel is part of a series, but I haven't read the others. The main character, Regan Hamilton Madison is the only daughter in a hotel-owning family. Her father died when she was young, and her mother was preoccupied, so she was mostly raised by her three older brothers, Aidan, Spencer, and Walker, who tend to be over-protective, although encouraging. She's smart and beautiful but hasn't had a lot of boyfriends, with the latest one dumped after revealing himself as after her money.
Her job in the family business has to do with the foundation, finding worthy causes to fund with the money earned by the hotels. Her two best friends date back to her kindergarten days, and one, Sophie, is a newspaper reporter with a loving, albeit criminal-minded father, and the other, Cordelia, a science teacher. Sophie is onto a potentially big story, looking into a pop psychologist who charms older women out of their money, and possibly more. Sophie suspects him of murder.
We also see the story unfold from the viewpoint of a killer, an unnamed man with a wife, Nina, in a wheelchair due to an accident. He is obsessed with Regan and determined to both kill her and somehow protect her as she aligns with his wife in his mind.
As the book begins, Regan and Cordelia agree to help Sophie look into the psychologist by attending one of his seminars. One of the activities during the seminar is to create a list of people in your life who'd be better off dead and then ritualistically burn it. Due to circumstances, Regan misses the burning portion of the exercise, and then is involved in a scary situation.
When people on her list start turning up dead, and someone threatens her more directly, she involves the police. But will they and her security team be able to stop someone as determined as the stalker behind the killings?
There is lots of suspense here, and some definite attraction between Regan and the police officer assigned to be her minder. A light, but engaging read.

The Middleman

Finished October 5
The Middleman by Olen Steinhauer

This thriller revolves around a man, Martin Bishop, who wants to create peaceful change. His hope for change is common to many of us today, who see big corporations wielding too much power, and see the wealth gap growing. Bishop's followers are mostly young people, stuck in dead-end jobs and seeing no promising future.
The book opens with one of them, Kevin Moore, ex-military, living in San Francisco. One day he receives a cryptic message that he has been waiting for. He dumps his wallet and phone, and walks away from life, waiting at a pre-arranged spot to be picked up. He is one of hundreds of people going through similar actions that day and on the coming few days.
Bishop's movement is called the Massive Brigade, and while some think of them as peaceful as Martin makes them out to be, using the threat of violence to make change, rather than violence itself. But others think of them as terrorists, and, when the group takes responsibility for a series of violent acts, acts that Kevin is made part of, it seems that the question has been answered.
Rachel Proulx of the FBI has been following Martin for years, and believes she understands him to a large extent, and these actions surprise her. Another FBI agent, is assigned to her group, and seems to not always be doing what Rachel expects him to do. When she finds him responsible for an event she did not condone, she starts to ask questions.
But Rachel is sidelined and attacked, and it will be many months before she and others start to ask questions again. This time, will anybody listen to them?

A Higher Loyalty

Finished May 21
A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey

I wanted to read this book to see what Comey felt behind the role he held, and this book met that expectation. Comey tracks his career journey from its beginnings, and goes into detail on some of the cases or situations that he dealt with. The details increase as we grow closer to the present, specifically regarding the Hillary Clinton email investigation, and Comey's dealings with Trump. Nothing actually surprised me, and I understood Comey's reasons for doing what he did.
Comey knows that nobody is perfect, including himself, and he does talk about a few actions that he is ashamed of, and details the struggles he had to make some decisions, including often asking for input from others or advice from people he trusted.
He outlines his ideas of what a good leader looks like, and what things a leader must keep in mind to remain a good leader. He talks about ethics, and his personal take on that and how it led him to the career he chose. He also talks about his lifelong goal of helping people, of righting wrongs and bringing those who betray others to justice. Through examples, he shows how he tries to give people chances to redeem themselves, to choose a different path, and how some choose it and others don't.
He talks about his wife, and the strong relationship they have, and how they've dealt with the struggles that life has brought them.
I enjoyed the book, and feel I understand the author better as well.

One Foot in the Grave

Finished May 4
One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost, read by Tavia Gilbert

This is the second novel in the Night Huntress series, but the first I've read. Cat Crawfield is a young woman who is half-vampire, half-human. Her mother hates and fears vampires and Cat found out her nature when she was sixteen. She is now in her early twenties and is a special agent for the FBI, leading a team who goes after rogue members of the undead. As the book starts, Cat learns that she has been targeted for assassination, and is facing great danger. When someone from her past reappears in her life, she must decide whether he offers a real future and protection or more danger than she can live with.
The voice of Cat here comes across as young, loyal to her men, yet a tad on the over-confident side. She doesn't just do her job, she engages in trash talk while doing so. She lets her emotions rule her actions sometimes, leading her into more difficult situations.
This is a book of fantasy and eroticism, with graphic sex scenes, and crude language. It is an action novel with a strong dose of paranormal.

Huntress Moon

Finished January 9
Huntress Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

This thriller features FBI agent Matthew Roarke. Roarke responds to a call from one of his agents for a face-to-face meeting only to witness the agent's death. It seems like an accident, but the mysterious woman that Roarke noticed just before has him thinking of other possibilities. As he does his research he finds evidence of a similar female figure in two other unsolved cases. One of them also seemed like an accident, but the other was a definite murder.
Roarke's experience as a profiler becomes something he draws on as he tries to figure out the woman's motivations and identity.
We also see this story from the woman's point of view as well, as she moves on to a new location, encounters trouble along the way, and befriends a man and his young son.
As we gradually learn more about this young woman from Roarke's research, and about her victims, we also see that the crimes that she has been involved in have more complexity to them and that complicates Roarke's reaction.
His career is also linked to her story in an interesting and personal way.

Dashing Through the Snow

Finished November 1
Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber, read by Allyson Ryan

This novel has elements of suspense and romance. Ashley Davison is studying for her master's degree in social work in San Francisco, and with the deli she works at undergoing renovations finds herself with unexpected time off over Christmas. She plans to go back home to Seattle to spend the holidays with her mother. As the book begins, she is at the airline counter trying to book a flight, and the desk attendant seems to both refuse to give her a seat, but also wants her to wait. Ashley, after trying hard to change the situation, including speaking politely to the person directly behind her in line, decides to try another option, car rental.
At the rental counter, she finds there is only one car left available, and the same man is behind her in line. As they are both going to Seattle and there are some adverse weather reports for the trip, the rental agency suggests that they share the vehicle. After some consideration, and talking with a character reference for the man, Dashiel Sutherland, she agrees to the solution.
As the pair drive north, they get to know each other, have some disagreements, find that they connect in unexpected ways, and acquire a puppy in an unexpected way.
Meanwhile they are being pursued by a couple of FBI agents, one of whom is sure that Ashley is the person that he has been seeking for years. I found this part of the plot a bit keystone kops, but still amusing.
So with the travellers developing a romance, the pursuers gradually closing in, and the Christmas season, we have a plot that will keep you interested.

Die Trying

Finished March 14
Die Trying by Lee Child

This Jack Reacher novels begins in Chicago and takes Jack to a remote valley in northern Montana. As Reacher is walking along a sidewalk in Chicago, a woman steps out of a dry cleaner with her arms full and drops her cane. He steps in to assist and ends up being taken along as she is kidnapped. The journey to their destiny takes some time, enough time for the two to get to know each other somewhat.
The search that begins for the woman in Chicago escalates quickly and becomes a matter of politics and personal relationships.
Themes here include the right-wing militia movement, conspiracy theories, and megalomania. Reacher, of course, is more than capable of dealing with what is thrown at him most of the time, and finds necessary assistance when the time is right.
A great read.

The Naturals

Finished March 1
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

This teen novel is set around a group of teenagers, but the girl telling the story 17-year-old Cassie. Five years ago, Cassie came across a difficult scene to deal with. Her mother was missing and her mother's dressing room showed signs of a violent struggle with lots of blood. No body has ever been found, and Cassie was sent to live with her paternal grandmother, since her father was stationed overseas with the military.
When Cassie is approached in the restaurant she waitresses in by the FBI, she is taken aback. They want her to join a group of teenagers being specially trained to take advantage of natural skills each has to do with solving crimes. They believe that Cassie is a natural profiler and with the right training she can be very skilled and a benefit to the FBI in solving cold cases. Cassie agrees to join the group, believing that this opportunity might bring her closer to answers about her mother. She meets a group of teens with very interesting interests and soon finds herself immersed in training.
But when a current case starts to get personal, Cassie and her fellow students find themselves trying to stay ahead of a very clever killer.
The characters here are interesting, each with their own quirk, hard to get to know, and eager to develop their skills. Cassie finds herself  unable to stay on the sidelines, which she has done up until now, and learns some things about her own issues as she does.