The Dark Maestro

 

Author: Brendan Slocumb

Narrator: Ronald Peet

Publisher: Random House Audio

Year: 2025

Happy #thrillerthursday! I’ll admit that when I read the summary for Brendan Slocumb’s first book, The Violin Conspiracy, I was skeptical. But that book pulled me right it. I found it just so compelling. I liked his second book Symphony of Secrets too. The Dark Maestro is his latest book. It’s about a cello player, on the verge of making it big in the rarified air of symphony music, who loses everything.

This story is kind of a hot mess. I liked the characters. Curtis is a musical genius and a big comic book loving nerd. Curtis and his dad Zippy had a strong relationship although there were some rocky times. It took Zippy some time to realize how talented Curtis is. Larissa,Zippy’s girlfriend, really supported and loved Curtis. Zippy worked for a a criminal operation dealing in illegal organ harvesting and agrees to testify to stay out of prison. The family goes into witness protection and Curtis is forced to give up his musical career. Looking for a creative outlet Curtis starts an online comic starring a superhero cello player. After several years in witsec and with the bad guys still looking for them, the family decides to take matters into their own hands and go after the guys who run the illegal organ harvesting ring. The chapters with the family in witsec got a little slow and dragged after a while. But the messy part for me started when Zippy and Larissa were able to leave the country to find the clinic where the organ harvesting was taking place. Larissa was able to get a job at the clinic to try to find some evidence. It got even more over the top after that. Curtis and his family got their revenge, but not without heartache. 

I liked this book and thought Ronald Peet did a wonderful job narrating it. He really brought the characters to life, but it’s not my favorite of Slocumb’s books. I’ll still recommend this one, but The Violin Conspiracy is far better. 

Can you play a musical instrument? Did you ever take lessons? 

#audiobook #audiobookreview #audiobookstagram #librarybook #lovemylibrary #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks

About the Author 

Brendan Slocumb was raised in North Carolina, and holds a degree in music education (with concentrations in violin and viola) from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. For more than twenty years he has been a public and private school music educator and has performed with orchestras throughout Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.

When the Wolf Comes Home

 

Author: Nat Cassidy

Publisher: Tor Nightfire

Year: 2025

Happy Tuesday! Do you read horror or like scary movies? I used to read a lot of Stephen King way back in the day, but then I just kind of drifted to other genres. I’ve recently been dipping back into the horror genre. After seeing @melsbooksshelves rave review of Nat Cassidy’s When the Wolf Comes Home, I had to give it a try. And it didn’t disappoint. It was one of my favorite reads last month. 

Jess finds a young boy hiding in the bushes outside her apartment one night. After a bloody massacre, Jess and the boy go on the run for their lives. Swipe ⬅️ for the full summary. 

This is horror meets found family, meets run for your lives, meets buddy road trip, meets what happens when the things you’re most afraid of come to life. It’s grizzly, occasionally absurd,  terrifying, and heartbreaking. Read it even in you’re not a horror fan because it’s just that great. This one is already on my list of favorites for the year. 

#whenthewolfcomeshome #natcassidy #tornightfire #horrorbooks #roadtrip #werewolf #librarybook #foundfamily 

About the Author

Nat Cassidy writes horror for the page, stage, and screen. His acclaimed novels, including Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings, have been featured in best-of lists from Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, NPR, the Chicago Review of Books, the NY Public Library, and more, and he was named one of the "writers shaping horror’s next golden age" by Esquire. His award-winning horror plays have been produced throughout New York City and across the United States. He won the NY Innovative Theatre Award for his one-man show about H. P. Lovecraft, another for his play about Caligula, and was commissioned by the Kennedy Center to write the libretto for a short opera (about the end of the world, of course). You've also likely seen Nat on your TV, playing various Bad Guys of the Week on shows such as Law & Order: SVU, Blue Bloods, Bull, Quantico, FBI,and many others ... but that's a topic for a different bio. He lives in New York City with his wife.

Code Name Hélène

 

Author: Ariel Lawhon

Narrators: Barrie Kreinik and Peter Ganim

Publisher: Random House Audio

Year: 2020

Happy Monday! Can we make #backlistbookmonday a thing? I’m late to the Code Name Hélène party. I loved Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River, so I had to dip into her backlist. 

The book is based on the real life story of Nancy Wake. Nancy, a New Zealander, was a newspaper reporter in Paris in the run up to WWII. After Germany invaded France, she began working to smuggle people and documents out of France. When the Germans placed a bounty on her, she fled to England. There, she trained with the British Special Operations Forces. She was sent back to France and became a leader in the French Resistance. What a life this woman had! 

Lawhon does an excellent job weaving a narrative based on her extensive research of Wake. The story is tense, riveting, and heartbreaking. The audio narration by Barrie Kreinik and Peter Ganim was gripping and kept me engrossed in the story. 

If you somehow haven’t read this yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up ASAP. It’s a good reminder that when the world is a dark and dangerous place, courageous and extraordinary women emerge. 

Who’s your favorite historical fiction heroine—and is she as bad@ss as Nancy Wake?

#codenamehelene #ariellawhon #nancywake #randomhouseaudio #backlistbook #audiobook #historicalfiction #WWIIfiction #paris #marseille #frenchresistance #bookstagram #basedonatruestory #audiobookstagram #librarybook 

About the Author

Ariel Lawhon is an award-winning, critically acclaimed, New York Timesbestselling author of historical fiction. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages and have been Good Morning America, LibraryReads, and One Book One County selections. She lives in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband and four sons. Ariel splits her time between the grocery store and the baseball field.

No Man’s Ghost

 

Author: Jason Powell

Publisher: Datura 

Year: 2025

Thank you Booksparks, Jason Powell, and Datura for the #gifted book for the Summer Reading Challenge! 

It's an FDNY firefighter’s first – and possibly last – week on the job.

Charles is a probie (probationary) firefighter just starting his career. He’s learning the ropes at the firehouse, trying to make a good impression on his coworkers, learning the routine, and training hard. As Charles settles in to his new job, Alan’s life and marriage are falling apart. His destructive decision could have deadly consequences for Charles and his fellow firefighters. 

This is well done debut novel. Powell, is an NYFD firefighter. He’s clearly called upon his work experience and expertise for this story. I liked the behind the scenes look at how a fire station runs, all the training, the teasing and pranking the probie, and the kinds of call outs the firefighters get. The plot alternates between Charles and Alan and his wife. The pace of the story is steady. Charles steadily gains confidence in himself and his job as his first week at work progresses. His fellow firefighters provide a needed support system to ensure Charles’ success and the safety of all. Meanwhile, Alan’s life unravels after his wife kicks him out after cheating on her. He’s got a problem with alcohol, very few friends, and no place to go. The pace of the book varies, no doubt much like the pace of a fire station. Quiet time and then the action and tension jumps up. This was an entertaining read and I definitely recommend it. I’m going to pass along my copy of the book to my son in law who’s also a firefighter. 

Any plans for the weekend? We’re having lunch with some of my husband‘s cousins on Saturday. 

#nomansghost #jasonpowell #booksparks #daturabooks #debutnovel #contemporaryfiction #nyfd #firefighters #arson 

About the Author

Jason Powell is an author and New York City Firefighter. When he isn’t at the firehouse or at a desk, he can be found in the city with his back pack filled with snacks, water, a notebook and a novel. Born the youngest of nine kids, his household of eleven people taught him to appreciate alone time and sweet escapes. He has found there is no better place to escape to than in between the covers of a book.

Open Season

 

Author: C.J. Box 

Narrator: David Chandler

Publisher: Recorded Books

Year: 2011

Happy #thrillerthursday! The May selection for my book Club was Open Season by C.J. Box. It’s the first book in Box’s long running Joe Pickett series. Joe is a Wyoming game warden. It’s a thankless job with long hours in all kinds of weather and low pay. But Joe loves it. In this book, Joe investigates the murders of several back mountain outfitters. 

Everyone in the book club enjoyed the book. Here’s some of the of the main points of our discussion: 

⛰️Joe’s a good and moral guy, but at times either a little naive or a little bit of a dumb@ss. He lost his gun twice! ⛰️He’s a good girl-dad. 

⛰️ The setting and pacing of the book were good. 

⛰️His 7 year old daughter Sheridan was smart and brave, but the character acted older than a 7 year old should. 

⛰️ Some club members thought a scene or two that involved 🌶️ were unnecessary because they didn’t advance the plot at all. 

⛰️ Everyone enjoyed the book. 

⛰️ David Chandler did a great job narrating the audiobook. 

Now help your girl out! I’m hosting this month’s meeting. A friend challenged me to serve food that goes with the theme of the book. We’re reading Into the Magic Shop: a Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brian and Secrets of the Heart by James R. Doty. I NEED ideas! 

#bookclub #openseason #joepickett #backlistbook #audiobook #wyoming #wyomingfiction #gamewarden #crimefiction #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks 

Mississippi Blue 42

 

Author: Eli Cranor

Publisher: SoHo Press

Publication date: August 5, 2025

Must a talented athlete make a deal with the devil to make his dream come true? 

Long before the landscape of college sports changed with the advent of the NIL and transfer portal, there were bagmen. Shady figures who made sure superstar college athletes got money- bags full of money. In Mississippi Blue 42, Rae Johnson, a hard charging rookie FBI agent, is assigned to investigate illicit money flowing through a small college town with a team looking to repeat as national champion. Rae’s investigation isn’t as easy as she thought it was going to be-especially when the star quarterback dies next to a bag full of money. Was it an accident or murder? 

Cranor delivers a fast paced story filled with over the top characters. The head coach is an empty-headed chameleon who’s more interested in bible verses and his next gig. The local sheriff is a bully who’ll cover up any crimes necessary. The bagman will go to any extent to help the team- even pimping out his own daughter. And the man who keeping the wheels greased and machine running is a shadowy politician. 

Beyond the farcical characters and the craziness of college football is Carnor’s examination of poverty, racism, and chasing dreams. Cranor’s a master storyteller who knows how to entertain and make the reader look at uncomfortable truths. He definitely delivers a game winner with this book. 

Mississippi Blue 42 is out August 5. Thank you SoHo Press and NetGalley for the ARC. 

#mississippiblue42 #elicranor #sohopress #netgalley #crimefiction #collegefootball #contemporaryfiction #mysteriesandthrillers #mysterybooks #thrillerbooks #bagman #collegesports 

Run on Red and Such Quiet Girls

 

Titles: Run on Red and Such Quiet Girls

Author: Noelle Ihli

Publisher: Simon Maverick 

It’s #twofortuesday and I’ve got two Noelle Ihli books for you. These books will keep you up reading past your bedtime. 

In Run on Red, two college girls run for their lives when two men start following their car on a lonely road. This one is filled with tension. I barely had the chance to catch my breath when the tension and action ratcheted up again. Caitlin Davies provides an excellent narration hitting notes of panic and terror that kept me riveted. 

Such Quiet Girls is loosely based on a true event. A group of young students and their bus driver are kidnapped and buried in an underground bunker. This story is also fraught with tension as a frantic mother races the clock to pay the ransom. The story, told from several points of view with different narrators, is gripping from beginning to end. 

What book that you’ve read so far this year did you absolutely not want to put down, even for a second?

#runonred #suchquietgirls #noelleIhli

#simonmaverick #thrillerbooks #mysterybooks #audiobook #audiobookstagram #bookrecomendation #kidnapping #audiobooks