Late Checkout

Finished April 11

Late Checkout by Carol J. Perry

This mystery is the ninth in a series is set in Salem, Massachusetts, and this particular book is set in late October, early November. The main character, Lee Barrett, is a field reporter for the local television station, WICH-TV, but she's been downgraded to part-time temporarily while the station owner's nephew works at the station as a first step in his TV news career. 

Lee lives in an upstairs apartment in the home of her aunt Ibby, the director of the local library. She was widowed a few years ago after her NASCAR racing husband died. She is now going out with a local police detective, Pete Mondello. She and her aunt share their home with a very special cat O'Ryan who possesses some clairvoyant abilities. Lee herself also has some psychic abilities and sometimes has visions, usually ones that appear to her in a reflective surface such as a mirror. 

The station is celebrating its seventieth birthday soon, and Lee is put on the job of research for the event, and research is something she loves, and often gets her aunt involved in too. Since Lee has some time on her hands, she also decides to volunteer at the library, but on her first shift she finds a dead body and gets involved in a case that may threaten her personally. 

The scene of death is reminiscent of the death scene of one of the station's old sports announcers, and also is similar to a recent break-in at someone's home. As Lee tries to figure out if the death's are linked and whether the different figures are related to other people at the station now or in the past, she finds herself with research that overlaps the work she is doing for the station's event, as well as introducing her to the world of sports collectibles.

We get to meet many of the station's other personalities, from the receptionist to the camera crew, as well as past personalities. Lee's visions are interesting because she doesn't know whether they are of the past or the future until she can figure them out. I would definitely read more of this series. 

The Cats Came Back

Finished April 4

The Cats Came Back by Sofie Kelly

This is the tenth book in the series. I read the ninth book A Tale of Two Kitties a few years ago and really enjoyed it. The books are set in the small town of Maryville Heights, Minnesota. The town is gearing up for a summer music festival and Kathleen, the local librarian, is looking forward to it. Her cats, Owen and Hercules, are having pictures taken at various locations around town for a fund-raising calendar.

One of the singers in town for the festival, Emme Finlay, a cabaret singer, once sang in a stage musical with Kathleen's mother, and Kathleen is pleased to meet her. Along with Emme are her friend and assistant Miranda Moore and her older sister Nora who also is involved with her career. Emme is thinking about going back to school to gain some skills she wants to further her career, such as learning French, and has had a recent boyfriend with a bit of a rough background. A picture of the two of them drunk in a bar has recently gone viral, causing issues for Emme. So when a body wearing Emme's clothes turns up, there are a lot of questions to ask and not a lot of answers.

There is a side story around an upcoming marriage of one of Kathleen's friends. Both the bride and groom were married previously and have children from those marriages. Their ceremony is planned for their home, which is part of the property where Kathleen's cats, previously feral, are from, and there is still a large cat colony there. 

I liked the music aspect of this mystery, and the scenes around both Kathleen's cats and the feral cat colony. This is a small community with a lot of people who care about each other, and the music community is similar in both people supporting each other and the many connections. 

I enjoyed learning more about Kathleen and her family here as well.

Great read. 

Twelve Angry Librarians

Finished April 2

Twelve Angry Librarians by Miranda James

This is the eighth book in the A Cat in the Stacks series which features librarian Charlie Harris and his Maine coon cat Diesel. I've previously read the fourth book in the series Out of Circulation and the fifth book, The Silence of the Library. 

The books are set in the small town of Athens, Mississippi, and here Charlie has been working as the interim director of the Athena College library. Normally he works in archives and rare books, and he had a career in the public library in Houston. Charlie returned to Athens after the death of his wife, and both of his children live and work nearby. 

As the book opens, it is a few days before the Southern Academic Libraries Association conference which the college is hosting, and Charlie is learning that he will have to make a short speech at the opening ceremony. He is dismayed to find out that the keynote speaker, Gavin Fong, is a man he can't stand, a man he went to library school with, and had a run-in with back then. He is even more dismayed to find out Gavin has applied for the library director position. 

As Charlie looks up what Gavin has been up to since they last me, he finds a pattern of short-term positions. When he sees that a couple of papers cited have other library school friends as co-authors, he decides to contact them to see if they are coming to the conference and if they have any more information on Gavin. 

At the conference Charlie finds out there are a lot of people who don't like Gavin, so when Gavin dies suddenly many people come under scrutiny, including Charlie. 

Diesel shows up often in the story, as Charlie takes him most of the places he goes, including to work, and out in public Diesel is usually on a leash. Diesel serves as a sounding board for Charlie when he thinks out loud, and sometimes inspires a useful idea.

This is an enjoyable series and I like the library content that is included. Gavin makes for an easy character to dislike, and the investigation is one that leads in interesting directions. 

A Trace of Death

Finished March 18

A Trace of Death by Blake Pierce

This is the first novel in a series featuring Los Angeles police officer Keri Locke. Her backstory is an interesting one. She was a criminology professor when her 9-year-old daughter Evie was kidnapped in a violent daylight abduction in a park. This eventually resulted in the breakup of her marriage and the loss of her job due to self-destructive behaviour. 

The abduction was five years ago, but Keri still hopes to find her daughter. She now works in the Missing Persons unit as a detective and as the book opens, a teenage girl, Ashley, is abducted while walking home from school. Keri takes the call and goes to meet the mother even though her partner Ray thinks it might just be a case of a runaway. 

Keri's story is interspersed with Ashley's viewpoint from the situation she is in, so the reader knows some information beyond the investigators.

Keri's background story means that she is both dedicated to her work, as it is so closely related to her personal issues, but it also means that she has trouble separating her story from her cases. This means that she becomes emotionally entangled with the people she encounters, ignores orders from superior officers, and is often unprofessional in her handling of suspects and witnesses. 

I felt for Keri, but also found her behaviour to be a big red flag in terms of her job and responsibilities. 

This is a fast-moving novel with new information being introduced throughout. 

A World of Curiosities

Finished February 14

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny

I read this just after her previous one, and while good it wasn't as good in my view. This book is more violent and more personal in a different sense. It opens with a graduation, one that is a happy occasion for most, but also has elements of past violence. The graduation is at the cole Polytechnic in Montreal, at which there is a tribute to the women killed in 1989. One of the students graduating did not actually attend the school, but took the courses from her prison cell. Her story takes readers back to the first meeting between Gamache and Jean-Guy Bouvier, a meeting that took place during a murder investigation in a small northern Quebec town. Another student receiving special honours has a connection with Three Pines, as she is Myrna's niece. 

It also takes Gamache back into another criminal connection from his past, a serial killer that he encountered with a remarkable ability to get into people's heads and manipulate them. 

In Three Pines, there are also changes. After many years without a leader for their small church they have one, one who came to religion later in life after a Wall Street career, and who seems to know loss. Myrna is thinking of moving, needing a home with more space to accommodate her niece. So when the rumour of a secret room in Myrna's loft begins, it seems like it may offer an answer.

Instead, the room offers more questions. Questions about what is hidden there and about who hid it and why. These questions also reach back into the past and into Quebec's early history, but also into the art world and a painting known as The Paston Treasure, a painting that was done by an unknown painter, seemingly to show off a collection of odd items connected in the family's travels. 

As always, Penny draws on real stories and adds in her own fictional elements to create a story that captures the imagination. She encompasses bigger issues such as the damage done to child victims of crimes, and how people react when faced with their biggest fears. 

The stakes are high in this tale, and so is the tension, and we see more of what have been minor characters until now, like Billy Williams, as well as a reappearance by Amelia Choquet. 

After the Night

Finished February 12

After the Night by Sandra Marie (Romance for All Seasons, #1)

This lighthearted romance takes place around the staff of a small medical clinic. The female main character, Cassidy Joanes, is a billing clerk for the clinic, one of three. The male main character, Jon Bateman, is an obstetrician/gynecologist and a recent new arrival at the clinic. They've encountered each other in the office and Jon even noted her desk decorations and called her "Marvel Girl." There is an office party involving costumes, and Cassidy decides to go as Buttercup from The Princess Bride. Jon was planning a quiet night at home, but he is encouraged to get out and make friends, so he heads out to the party dressed a Dread Pirate Roberts, also from The Princess Bride. 

Naturally the two meet, and when they discover how much geekiness they have in common, and they find themselves drawn to each other, they spend some intimate time together. 

Unfortunately for Cassidy, she was wearing an old pair of contacts to get into character and they were removed early in the evening after irritating her eyes, so she didn't see the real man under the mask and has little to go on in terms of identification.

As she tries to figure out who the mystery man is, Jon is unsure of his status with her. He is a coworker at the clinic, but also a boss of a sort being one of the doctors. He also finds that she treats him in a friendly way, but not as a romantic interest, which confuses him. 

With all this going on, sending the two of them off as part of a group of staff to a medical conference means that they get more time together, but will it be enough to reignite the connection between them.

Underlying all this is another issue, a mystery relating to the finances of the clinic, which Cassidy is trying to figure out. 

Lots going on, but a note of lightheartedness throughout.

The Madness of Crowds

Finished February 11

The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny

I always enjoy Penny's books, but this one I could hardly put down. It is the 17th book in the series featuring Armand Gamache. There was so much going on, and she brought in so many issues and bits of history. The novel takes place in the spring of 2022, but was written before then, so it has vaccines working better than they actually did and life more or less returned to normal. That doesn't mean that the pandemic didn't have lasting effects though, and Penny has brought in several issues related to it, including the stress on the healthcare system and the situations that occurred at so many retirement and nursing homes. I think these made it a more emotional read for me as they are still unresolved issues.

She also dug into some historical events around health and government oversight that are particularly troubling, and made them key to the story. This element also brought Reine-Marie in to the story in an active way, helping to uncover some of the historical records from this time. This connected with both characters in the present day, and the question of ethics that runs through the book. 

A lot of the action of the novel takes place in Three Pines, although not all of it. and this means that we see a lot of the residents of the village and learn how they coped with this difficult time. 

Gamache has the responsibility for security for a last minute speaker at a small university. The speaker has controversial ideas and some of the previous speaking arrangements have gone viral, and the event is more chaotic than expected, even with Gamache's preparation. As he digs deeper into the events and the people involved, he finds many people with reasons to react violently. The issues that arise here have a very personal link to Gamache and his family, which reverberate throughout the book. I think this is the book in the series that has both captured me the most thoroughly and haunted me afterward the most. 

The Bookshop of Secrets

Finished January 22

The Bookshop of Secrets by Mollie Rushmeyer

This novel is set in present day but is influenced by events of the past. Hope Sparrow arrives in the small town of Wanishin Falls, Minnesota looking to collect the books her mother left her when she died. They were held by a friend of her mother's for safekeeping, but Hope has discovered the friend passed away and thus followed the trail to the friend's hometown. The books are part of what Hope has come in search of, but she also remembers childhood stories of treasure and wonders what truth there is to them. 

When she arrives at the bookshop, Dusty Jackets, she finds the owners Ulysses and Margaret Barrick unable to locate her books quickly, partly due to the onset of dementia in one of them, and she agrees to stay and help for a place to stay and some payment while they search. With a timeline of two months set, Hope finds herself getting to know the people of the town, and exploring not only her own past, but also her future. Her dreams of owning a combination food and book truck are shared and begin to become real, but she has to decide whether her life will keep her running as she has or whether she can deal with her past and build a future that includes others. 

There are other young people here also stuck in their own ways, with expectations and baggage from others defining their present. From the bookshop owners' grandson Ronan to cafe manager Kat, to troubled teenager Tate Morgan, they are all finding their place in the world and looking for community. There is an underlying Christian theme to book that doesn't overpower the plot but plays a role in guiding it. 

I enjoyed the story, the book elements and the message of forgiveness and optimism that it held. 

Deck the Halls

Finished November 21

Deck the Halls by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark

This mystery is set around a popular New York City based mystery writer and her family. Nora Reilly had planned to spend the holiday season with her husband Luke and daughter Regan in Hawaii. Unfortunately she tripped on a rug and broke her leg and now the family is spending Christmas in New York. Regan has flown in from her home in Los Angeles. Luke has a few plans, from putting in an appearance at a funeral taking place at the funeral home he runs with a partner to a dentist appointment before returning to the hospital later that day and then going out for a bit with Regan.

When calls go her dad go unanswered, and he doesn't show at the dentist, Regan knows something is wrong. At the dentist she runs into amateur detective Alvirah Meehan whose husband had an emergency dental visit just before Luke's scheduled appointment. Alvirah gives Regan a ride back to her parents' house and is there when a call comes in demanding a ransom be paid for Luke's release.

When Luke exited the hospital earlier, he and his driver were surprised by a former contractor with a gun. The contractor has teamed up with a disgruntled relative of a recently deceased business acquaintance of Luke's and the two have multiple grievances against both Luke and his young single mother driver Rosita Gonzalez. 

Gonzalez is worried about the inexperienced babysitter she had left her two young boys with and Luke is thinking of ways to provide information to his daughter that may help her find him.

Regan works as a private detective back in L.A. and with Alvirah's help and contacts quickly gets high-level support from the police. 

The ineptitude of the kidnappers provides both comic relief and tenseness as they seem to be ill-prepared for any changes to their plans. 

This is a light seasonal mystery book that provided me with a quick and enjoyable escape read. There is even a touch of romance. 

Dance of the Bones

Finished November 13

Dance of the Bones by J.A. Jance

This novel brings together J.P. Beaumont and Brandon Walker for a situation in Arizona. Lani Pardee is planning on going on an overnight retreat in the mountains with her 13-year-old godson Gabe. He has been a souce of worry recently for his parents who worry that he is taking a path that won't bring him anywhere good. The night doesn't go as planned, and they end up in the middle of a crime that has been decades coming. 

More than forty years earlier, Amos Warren had mentored young John Lassiter, and the two had a partnership finding and selling historical artifacts. Amos was killed and his body wasn't found for years. When it was, Lassiter was convicted of his murder and is still in jail for it. But a group working to clear his name has begun to dig into the case and the real murderer is looking to cover any remaining tracks and leave the area for good. 

This book ties in a native legend to the story, adding bits of that legend to the beginning of each chapter as it relates to the action in the plot. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book and the Walker family tree that was also included at the beginning, showing how various characters connected to each other. 

This was an interesting mystery with additional depth from the indigenous content. A good read. 

My copy also had a short story featuring J.P. Beaumont along with his wife Mel.

The Cat, the Lady, and the Liar

Finished October 25

The Cat, the Lady and the Liar by Leann Sweeney

This is a book in the Cats in Trouble mystery series. Jillian Hart is a quilter who specializes in quilts for or featuring cats. She is also involved in a local cat rescue in her town of Mercy, South Carolina. She has been asked by the rescue director to discreetly look into the owner of a cat recently found near a highway. The owner is a wealthy woman in the neighbouring town of Woodcrest, Ritaestelle Longworth. When Jillian goes to Ritaestelle's house and talks to her assistant, she finds that things are not right, and when Ritaestelle shows up a Jillian's house later that same day looking for help, Jillian is only too happy to assist. 

Both women are old school polite, following established social protocols for behaviour and expectations. They are also both good hostesses and good women at heart and want to do what's right by the people around them. Jillian is a relatively recent widow, who is in the early stages of a new relationship with a man who is also a security specialist. Ritaestelle lives with two cousins, her sister-in-law, and her nephew and has a multitude of ties to her community. With rumours circulating about her mental state, and possible shoplifting and minor theft charges placed against her, Ritaestelle is looking to clear her name, and find out who might be setting her up and why. Taking refuge at Jillian's house for a time, along with her cat Isis, she cooperates fully with Jillian to figure it out. 

A cosy mystery with lots of cats present and showing their unique personalities. 

The Silence of the Library

Finished October 4

The Silence of the Library by Miranda James

This is the fifth book in the "Cat in the Stacks" series featuring retired librarian Charlie Harris. Charlie is a widower and lives with his two adult children, Sean and Laura; a boarder; and his beloved Maine coon cat Diesel in Athena, Mississippi. Diesel goes almost everywhere with Charlie, and most people are familiar with him. Charlie is close friends with the library director and seems to give her advice and help with events as well as volunteer at the service desk on a regular basis. 

They have an upcoming event planned that is focused on classic children's and youth mystery series like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. One of the series is Veronica Thane and as the book opens they find out that the author is still alive, even though she is over a hundred. She also lives fairly locally, so plans begin to visit her and see if she might be willing to make an appearance at the event. 

Charlie grew up with these books, after being introduced to them by his favourite aunt. 

When word begins to leak out about the author, some of her most ardent fans show up, and when someone associated ends up dead, things start to get worrisome for the library and Charlie. 

This is a cosy series I hadn't come across before, and I found it didn't grab me as much as others. Charlie's role with the library was vague and for a small town, it was surprising how many people seemed to be unfamiliar with library staff and the other main players. 

The plot was interesting in some ways, and I did like how the old series books played a role in figuring out what was going on. 

Death on a Winter Stroll

Finished July 6

Death on a Winter Stroll by Francine Mathews

This mystery novel is part of the series featuring Nantucket police chief Merry Folger. Winter Stroll is a tradition on Nantucket and this is the first time it is happening since the pandemic began. Merry knows that the island depends on tourism economically and desperately needs that for the small businesses to survive, but she also wants to keep the community safe amid all the activity.

There is a production team on the island filming a television series at the less populated end of the island, as well as lots of tourist and former residents back for the winter event. Among the former residents is the family of the current Secretary of State, including her stepson Ansel. The famous actor starring in the TV series has brought his young adult daughter Winter along, and a chance meeting between the two has them joining forces when disturbing events cause upheaval in both their worlds. 

Ansel has a secondary purpose on the island that no one else in the family knows, reuniting with his estranged mother, Blythe Fitzpatrick. He wasn't told the truth about her absence in his life and is learning about her and trying to build a relationship. 

As Merry tries to manage the crimes that impact both the production and the government official, she uses her lifelong knowledge of the island and its residents to make connections. 

I liked many of the characters, including both the series characters such as Merry, and the ones appearing first in this novel, such as Ansel, Winter, and Blythe. They are well drawn and have depth. 

I definitely plan to look for more in the series. 

Cat in the Dark

Finished July 2

Cat in the Dark by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

This is a small town mystery book, part of the Joe Grey series. Joe Grey is one of the main cat characters, with the other being Dulcie. They are not ordinary cats, but have higher intelligence and can talk with humans. Only their owners know this about them, and they take care to hide it when others are around. This is the fourth book in the series, and they've already solved a couple of mysteries in town, leaving anonymous messages for the local sheriff. 

As this book opens, in the course of night prowling they come across a cat they haven't seen before and observe him letting someone into a closed business. They also discover this strange cat is named Azrael and has the same ability that they have. They don't want to draw attention to this feature, so think hard about how to stop the crimes without revealing that some cats exist that have extra abilities.

Joe Grey lives with Clyde Damon, a man who loves restoring old cars and has recently bought a small apartment building that he is renovating. Clyde has hired his girlfriend Charlie Getz to do some of the work on the building, as she is very handy, running her own cleaning and repair business. Charlie employs Mavity Flowers to do some of the cleaning work. 

Dulcie lives with librarian Wilma Getz, Charlie's aunt, and spends a lot of time at the library, although the current director of the library, Freda, doesn't like it. 

There are a number of other residents of the town involved in the story as well as visiting family of Mavity. Her brother Greeley and his daughter Dora along with Dora's husband Ralph have come to visit as the do once a year or so. 

There are several storylines in this small town novel, and one can see opportunities for more books. Joe Grey and Dulcie are interesting characters with characteristics of both people and cats. This is the first book I've read of this series and it was an interesting read.  

Another Thing to Fall

Finished June 23

Another Thing to Fall by Laura Lippman

This is the tenth book in the series featuring Baltimore PI Tess Monaghan. I've read one of the earlier books in the series as well. 

Here Tess unknowingly rows into the set of a television pilot being filmed in the city, and finds herself being asked to do security for the production company, specifically for the female lead Selene Waites. Recently a local man was found dead in his home surrounded by photos of the actor. She is reluctant, but agrees if they also find a position for Tess' boyfriend Crow's ward Lloyd Jupiter. Crow has been trying to get Lloyd to find a job, but he hasn't lasted at anything and he is better occupied than not. 

Tess finds that Selene isn't as ditzy as she makes herself out to be, and when she is outfoxed by the actor, she brings in her best friend Whitney so that they can cover her for all hours. 

During this time however, someone has been found murdered at the production company offices, and Tess finds her interest sparked. As she begins to dig into the background of the people in the company, she finds a lot more than meets the eye. 

This introduced me to some industry lingo and processes I didn't know and has an interesting plotline. 

Tess is a character I like, as is Whitney. A fast and engrossing read. 

The Book of Cold Cases

Finished May 22

The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

This book is centered on a young woman who was a victim of a crime in her childhood, and who now writes a true crime blog in her spare time. Shea Collins works as a receptionist in a medical office and has a trust issue due to her past experience. It is 2017, and Shea has lately been interested in a cold case from forty years ago. She lives and works near the area of the crimes, and finds herself visiting places connected with the case. 

The 1977 crime consisted of two killings of men. Both were shot at close range with the same gun. A wealthy young woman, Beth Greer, was seen leaving one of the crime scenes and was tried for the murders, but acquitted. When Shea runs into Beth by chance, she impulsively asks her for an interview and to her surprise, Beth agrees. 

This connection opens other doors and leads Shea to new sources of information on the crime. She learns a lot about Beth's family and her reclusive life, and she finds herself noticing things  at the mansion that Beth lives in that have no rational explanation, and make her very uneasy. 

One of Shea's fans is a local private investigator and ex-cop, Michael De Vos, and she has often bounced ideas off of him. She's never met him, but she has a connection with him, and this case strengthens that connection. 

She also has her married sister Esther, who lives nearby, and who worries about her. And there is the unexpected appearance of a stray cat, who Shea more or less adopts and who helps her make a breakthrough in some of the issues she has from her own experiences.

I found Shea a very interesting character, a woman who wants to overcome her issues, but doesn't really know how to. She's so used to putting up barriers in her life, that she finds it difficult to remove them. The cold case, and the mysterious Beth bring a level of the paranormal to the book, that makes it creepy in moments that leave you holding your breath. 

A great read. 

The Girl in the Woods

Finished April 25

The Girl in the Woods by Gregg Olsen

This thriller is the first book in a series that features native American pathologist Dr. Birdy Waterman and Sheriff's detective Kendall Stark, who have been working as a cross departmental team very successfully in Washington state.

The novel opens with a prologue where a young woman, Molly O'Rourke, a nurse's aid, taking her dog out early in the morning before work. As she waits, she thinks about one of her neighbours, Ted Roberts and how he had encouraged her as well as how ill he looked the last time she saw him.

As this novel proper begins, Birdy is surprised to find her teenage nephew, Elan on her front steps, soaking wet and looking to stay with her for a while. She's on her way out because a school trip results in the find of a human foot, and the two women have been called to attend the crime scene. As Birdy examines the foot and the two work to identify the victim, Birdy ends up getting closer to this case than she usually does with the family members of the people she examines. She gets drawn into a variety of possibilities for the perpetrator and motives and finds herself taking on aspects of the case that would normally fall to police. 

Kendall does a lot of research around the case as well, looking into the victim, family members and who might have a grudge against any of them. 

When another suspicious death happens in the community, the two are also involved in that, and soon begin to wonder whether the cases are connected. 

There are lots of interesting themes here, with larger story possibilities arising around the main characters and their personal lives. Birdy's nephew Elan has issues he struggles to deal with, and one of the other characters is a hoarder, with all the mental health issues that brings. 

There is also a prison in the community and both staff and inmates have appearances here too. I enjoyed the two lead characters, and many of the plotlines, but for me the ending seemed to have too much going on, and things happened very quickly with little of the even pace of the rest of the novel. Hopefully this will resolve as the series continues. 

Leave Me By Dying

Finished April 8

Leave Me By Dying by Rosemary Aubert

This is the fourth book in the series featuring Ellis Portal, a man who was once a revered judge in the Ontario courts, and then became homeless. This book is a jump back in time, told as memories of Ellis as he considers whether to return to being a lawyer. The story here returns Ellis to the 1960s, where he is in law school. This book tells of an event that became a pivotal point in his life. 

One of Ellis' friends, Gleason Adams, is a young man from a wealthy family, and the story begins as he asks Ellis to join him at the morgue for a meeting in the middle of the night. 

Ellis joins him there, and after waiting for a considerable time, the two are admitted to the morgue where they witness the start of an autopsy that is unexpectedly halted. 

But the image of the dead person there stays in Ellis' head and he keeps wanting to know what the story is behind it. He asks questions, writes letters, and does research and keeps digging for answers. Gleason hasn't been showing up for class and seems distracted when Ellis tries to meet with him.

On a couple occasions they go to strange places and have encounters that Ellis doesn't fully understand. 

Meanwhile, at home, Ellis' brother Michele is heavily involved in social change, watching the actions going on in Selma, in the southern United States, and asking for Ellis' help with an indigenous man who is being drafted to fight in Vietnam. 

As Ellis tries to use the draft dodger case to further his legal goals, he is also slowly discovering the truth about Gleason and what he's been up to. 

This book is a revealing look at one of the significant events in Ellis' past that made him who he is now. 

Those We Left Behind

Finished February 16

Those We Left Behind by Stuart Neville

This is the first in the series featuring DCI Serena Neville of the Belfast police. She is just returning to work after her cancer treatments and struggling with how it has changed her relationship with her husband. Years ago she had a case where two boys, Ciaran and Thomas, were involved in the death of their foster parent, and it still haunts her. One boy confessed, but she had never really believed the confession. Now, he is nineteen and getting out of youth custody. The probation officer assigned to him, Paula Cunningham, comes to Serena for some background on the young man. Paula finds him a little odd, but she knows he isn't stupid. Thomas has been out for a while, and has a job, an apartment and a car, and hasn't shown any issues of problematic behaviour. Ciaran is eager to see his brother, but seems nervous and unsure how to behave on his own. 

The son of the man killed, Daniel, is sure that Thomas was the one who killed his father, and he begins to exhibit unpredictable behaviour when he learns of Ciaran's release. 

When someone ends up dead, and Serena gets the case, both she and Paula think the brothers are connected. Especially when they get threats of their own. But can Serena break through to Ciaran now when she couldn't before, or will these two women find themselves in danger.

After recently reading the second book in this series, I decided that I had to read the first, and while I knew from the second some elements of this one, I still found myself hoping that Serena's intuition would lead her in the right direction. 

I liked Serena as a character and I also liked Paula here. Both are women in careers that put them in contact with dangerous people and they both are used to relying on their guts to warn them of dangers. As they combine what they know to find the answers to both old and new crimes, they also find themselves up against their superiors. 

So Say the Fallen

Finished February 12

So Say the Fallen by Stuart Neville

This is the second book in the series featuring DCI Serena Flanagan of the Belfast police. It is also the first one that I read. Serena is assigned a case that looks fairly straightforward. A man, Henry Garrick, who was in a car accident a few months ago and lost both his legs has been found by his wife dead, with the means to kill himself at hand. 

The widow, Roberta Garrick, first called her priest Peter McKay before he summoned the police. 

Serena has a lot on her mind, with things not going well in her personal life, and having questions about her future. Her superior is planning to resign soon, and doesn't have a lot of patience for Serena's sense that something isn't quite right about this case. 

As Serena digs deeper into the widow's past and the reverend begins to have doubts about his own actions, things slowly move forward and Serena has new questions. 

I like the Serena Flanagan character, how she doesn't doubt her professional intuition even when her personal life is having issues that make her question some of her choices. She is a complex character with nuances that make her interesting. 

The case includes a few people who don't want to see anything but the obvious, and Serena must take risks to follow her suspicions through to the end.