The Last King of California

 

Author: Jordan Harper

Narrator: Stephen Graybill

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Year: 2024

🎧𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄🎧

Thank you Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the ALC.

Luke Crosswhite returns to his family homestead in the desert of Southern California. As a young boy, Luke watched his father beat a man to death. Now Luke has returned to his roots after living away from the violence and crime that surrounds his family. Is this Luke’s destiny? Was he born to take over the reigns of the small criminal gang that his father helped found and still runs from his jail cell? As Luke begins establishing his place within the family, a lager and more violet gang makes a move to take over. As the danger and violence escalates, can

Luke and his family survive? 

This is a really engrossing novel of a young man searching for his place in the world- even if that world is filled with blood and crime. Author Jordan Harper’s story of found family is both poetic and brittle at the story’s desert setting. Sparse, yet powerful noir. This is old school crime fiction at its best. Narrator Stephen Graybill does an excellent job bringing the story to life. He conveys Luke’s emotional unrest at returning home and also the danger that awaits him. This is first-rate storytelling and shouldn’t be missed. Available today. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

QOTD: have you started decorating for Christmas? 

I haven’t. I usually wait until after Thanksgiving. 

#thelastkingofcalifornia #jordanharper #hachetteaudio #netgalley #stephengreybill #audiobook #publicationday #audiobookreview #crimefiction #noir #thrillerfiction #californiafiction

The Night We Lost Him

 

Author: Laura Dave

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Year: 2024

🎧𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄🎧

Thank you Simon Audio for the #gifted audiobook. Appreciate it! 

When Liam Noone, the wealthy founder of a luxury boutique hotel empire, is found dead on the beach below his cliff-side cottage, the police rule it accidental. Nora doesn’t believe it. She teams up with her brother to find out what happened to her father and better understand the man he was. 

The story unfolds between the present with Nora searching for answers and the past with Liam falling in love with Cory and building his business. This is billed as an “epic love story wrapped in a riveting mystery.” I didn’t think the love story was that epic. Over the 50 years of their relationship, Liam and Cory marry other people, but it’s never the right time to marry each other. But It was never explained why they couldn’t be together. Cory just gave vague excuses why she couldn’t marry Liam. They could never find the right time to commit to their relationship over five decades? 

I found the mystery of Liam’s death to be a little slow and predictable. Instead of a mystery, this is more a character study of one woman’s journey to better understand her distant father and come to terms with his passing. 

I loved Dave’s previous book, The Last Thing He Told Me. Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me. I think readers looking for a family drama will find this book compelling. My favorite part of this audiobook was Julian Whelan’s narration. She’s the G.O.A.T of narrators and makes every story better. 

QOTD: what are you reading this weekend? I’m reading the arc We Are Watching by Alison Gaylin. I have to find an audiobook to listen to. 

#thenightwelosthim #lauradave #simonaudio #familydrama #mysteryfiction #thrillerfiction #audiobooks #audiobookreview #audiobookstagram #bookstagram

Safecracker

 

Author: Jesse DeRoy

Publisher: Union Square & Co

Year: 2024

Thank you @unionsqandco and @netgalley for the digital review copy! Appreciate it! 

“Duke” Ducaine was raised to be a thief. He was the best safecracker in the business until it all went wrong. Now his dad, who taught him everything, is in jail and his sister is in a coma after a job went bad. Duke’s been on the straight and narrow since then. He’s eking out a living as a locksmith, but he has debts to pay. His bookie is threatening to break his thumbs if Duke doesn’t come up with some cash fast. When Duke is approached by some sketchy feds looking for help breaking into an unbreakable safe and promising a big payday, he knows he shouldn’t take their offer. But the challenge and the money are too hard to resist. Duke might be opening a Pandora’s box of danger. 

I love a good heist novel and this is a good one. Duke is a likable character. He’s a good guy who just happens to be a thief. Duke’s life has gone off the rails since the bad job that left his sister in a coma and he’s racked with guilt about that. 

Kudos to author Jesse DeRoy on this first rate debut novel. The pace of story is pretty quick and it had a lot of twists and turns. There were flashbacks to Duke’s childhood and the job that went horribly wrong. The chapters helped round out Duke’s character and motivations. This is a good choice for readers looking for a crime caper novel featuring a smart and complex main character. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the first book in a series and I’m definitely looking forward to the next installment. Safecracker publishes tomorrow. Don’t miss this one! 

QOTD: what are you reading this week? 

I’m listening to Stanley Tucci’s What I Ate in a Year. Good stuff! 

#safecracker #jessederoy #debutnovel #2024debut #unionsquareandcompany #netgalley #crimefiction #heistnovel #musteryfiction #thrillerfiction #bookstagram

Double Barrel Bluff

 

Author: Lou Berney

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Release date: November 5, 2024

📖𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘄📖

Thank you William Morrow Paperbacks and  NetGalley for the digital review copy. 

Retired mob wheelman Shake Bouchon gets pressed into service again when his former boss, who is also his former girlfriend, is kidnapped. 

Shake and his wife Gina are now living a quiet and crime-free life in Indiana. Suddenly his former boss’s blood thirsty right hand man turns up in Shake’s backyard. He demands Shake go with him to Cambodia to help find Lexy, the powerful head of the Armenian mob who disappeared while on vacation. 

Shake embarks on a deadly race against time to find Lexy. Almost everything that can go wrong on the trip does, and Shake often finds himself caught up in absurd situations and tangling with outrageous and deadly characters. 

This is an action packed and fast paced thriller infused with quirky humor. This is the third book in the Shake Bouchon series, but it can easily be read as a standalone novel. This is an unconventional thriller set in an exotic location that will appeal to readers looking for a fun read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Double Barrel Bluff by Lou Berney publishes on Nov. 6. 

QOTD: Double barrel bluff is a poker strategy. Are you a card player? Do you have a poker face? 

I’m not much of a card player.

#doublebarrelbluff #louberney #williammorrowpaperbacks #crimefiction #thrillerbooks #mysteryfiction #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #bookreview #publishingsoon #netgalley

I Need You to Read This

 

Author: Jenna Maxwell

Narrator: Carolotta Brentan

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Year: 2024

🎧 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 🎧

Many thanks to @simon.audio for the gifted audiobook of I Need You to Read This by Jenna Maxwell. Appreciate it! 

Alex moved to New York for a fresh start. When she lands her dream job as an advice columnist for a big newspaper, she begins digging into her predecessor’s murder. Danger from Alex’s past closes in as she looks for answers. Can Alex figure out who killed the woman she considered a hero and mentor before her past catches up with her? 

My favorite part of this book were the two secondary characters - a waitress and a retired cop. They befriend Alex and help out her investigation. They are humorous and have hidden layers in their past. I also liked the timeline shift from past to present that unfolds through letters written to legendary advice columnist before she was murdered. There were enough twists and turns to keep me on my toes. I really enjoyed the narration by Carlotta Brentan. My advice to readers: pick this one up if you’re looking for a satisfying thriller. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s been a minute since my last post. How’s everyone doing? 

#ineedyoutireadthis #jessamaxwell #simonaudio #crimefiction #thrillerfiction #mysteryfiction #audiobook #audiobookreview #audiobookstagram

Bad Tourists

 

Author: Caro Carver

Narrator: Lesley Sharp

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Year:2924

🎧 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 🎧

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the gifted audiobook! 

Best gal pals Darcy, Camilla, and Kate go on holiday to a posh resort in the Maldives. The ladies are “celebrating” Darcy’s divorce. What should be a sunny and boozy time quickly turns turns deadly. 

The three friends had bonded over a shared trauma and all have secrets. I thought this was an entertaining thriller with some twists and turns. It’s a good beach or pool read to squeeze in before the end of summer. The narration by Lesley Sharp was great and the setting left me dreaming of an exotic island vacation. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: any weekend plans? I have some errands to run and have a tee time for Sunday. 

#badtourists #carocarver #simonaudio #audiobook #audiobookreview #audiobookstagram #thrillerfiction #crimefiction #vacationthriller #beachbook #maldives #mysteryfiction #bookstagram

July Reading Wrap Up

 

📚𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗿𝗮𝗽 𝗨𝗽📚

Thank you Simon & Schuster Audio for the gifted copies of Under Your Spell, Bad Tourists, I Was a Teenage Slasher, and I Nees You to Read This. Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the digital review copy of The Divide and William Morrow for the digital review copy of The Queen City Detective Agency. Happy August! Last month was a good reading month for me. I enjoyed 15 books. Here’s the breakdown: 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

🎧 Under Your Spell- fun, humorous romance

🎧The Lager Queen of Minnesota- great characters & so much heart

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

📖 The Queen City Detective Agency- 80s vibe southern noir 

🎧 Swan Song - Hilderbrand never disappoints 

🎧 Bad Tourists - twisty vacation thriller

📖 The Divide - Hollywood thriller with a big twist

🎧 The Collected Regrets of Clover - touching drama about grieving & growing 

🎧 What You Leave Behind - slow burning social justice mystery

🎧 Too Close to Breath - Irish police procedural 

🎧 I Need You to Read This- interesting characters & tons of twists and turns

🎧 Butcher & Blackbird - funny, spicy serial killers fall in love

🎧 I Was a Teenage Slasher - fun filled horror featuring all the slasher movie tropes 

🎧 The Long and Faraway Gone - private investigator tries to reconcile his past while a woman searches for answers of her own. Really good! 

🎧 The God of the Wood - is the disappearance of a girl at a summer camp connected to her brother’s disappearance years earlier?

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

📖 The Last One - over the top reality show on a cruise ship. The ending made me cringe. 

QOTD: what was your favorite July read? 

#monthlywrapup #readingwraoup #julywrapup #crimefiction #thrillerfiction #mysteryfiction #thrillerfiction #romancebooks #policeproceedual #irishfiction #audiobookstarm #bookstagram