If I Live By Terri Blackstock

 

If I Live   By Terri Blackstock  331 pages

Casey Cox is still on the run after being indicted for murder. The hunt that began with her bloody footprints escalates, and she's running out of places to hide. Her face is all over the news, and her disguises are no longer enough. It's only a matter of time before someone recognizes her. Dylan Roberts, the investigator who once hunted her, is now her only hope. Terrifying attempts on Dylan's life could force Casey out of hiding. The clock is ticking on both their lives, but exposing the real killers is more complicated than they knew. Amassing the evidence to convict their enemies draws Dylan and Casey together, but their relationship has consequences. Will one life have to be sacrificed to protect the other?

Third book in this series and I read it in one day, because I wanted to see what happened.  Very suspenseful and I loved the ending.  Many murders and kidnappings and kept me on the edge of my seat!! Recommend 10/10 

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

 Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann-377 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a riveting page-turner that is hard to put down. It is a story of how members of the Osage Nation were systematically murdered for their head rights (oil money). Oil had been found on Osage Nation land after their Allotment and the federal government allowed them to keep the money, but many Osage were required to have a guardian who held the purse strings. The federal government didn't think the Osage could handle their own money. In many cases, the Osage were murdered by their guardians for the oil money. However, many of these cases were never investigated and/or solved. During what became known as the Osage Reign of Terror some 605 Osage died between 1907 and 1923. Hundreds of those who died were potentially murdered. William Hale and Ernest Burkhart were at the center of one of the largest plots, but it was far from the only plot. Many of these murder cases went unknown or unsolved for decades, if they were even investigated at all. Justice was never really served for these murders. William Hale was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, but was paroled after 20 years and died of old age in a nursing home. Ernest Burkhart was also paroled and eventually pardoned for his role in the murders. Very few others were ever convicted of their alleged crimes. It leaves readers sickened and infuriated (at least it did me). 

Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun by Elle Cosimano

Finlay Donovan Jumps (Finley Donovan #3) the Gun by Elle Cosimano, 304 p.

"Author and single mom Finlay Donovan has been in messes before―after all, she's a pro at removing bloodstains for various unexpected reasons―but none quite like this. When Finlay and her nanny/partner-in-crime Vero accidentally destroyed a luxury car that they had "borrowed" in the process of saving the life of Finlay's ex-husband, the Russian mob did her a favor and bought the car for her. And now Finlay owes them.

Mob boss Feliks is still running the show from behind bars, and he has a task for Finlay: find and identify a contract killer before the cops do. The problem is, the killer might be an officer themself.

Luckily, hot cop Nick has just been tasked with starting up a citizen's police academy, and combined pressure from Finlay's looming book deadline and Feliks is enough to convince Finlay and Vero to get involved. Through firearm training and forensic classes (and some hands-on research with a tempting detective), Finlay and Vero use their time in police academy to sleuth out the real contract killer to free themselves from the mob's clutches―all the while dodging spies, confronting Vero's past, and juggling the daily trials of parenthood."--Goodreads blurb

This continues to be such a fun and funny with an perfectly silly mystery. The side characters really pull this goofy series together and caused me to laugh out loud several times. I'm looking forwared to more of these from Cosimano. 

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It (Finlay Donovan #1) by Elle Cosimano, 355 p.

"Finlay Donovan is killing it...except, she’s really not. A stressed-out single mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: The new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written; her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her; and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.

When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet. She soon discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.

Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and wholeheartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moments, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from award-winning Elle Cosimano."--Goodreads blurb

The premise to this story sounded so hilarious that I had to give it a try. And is was fun and funny, but you have to be prepared to suspend belief from what any sane person would do in real life. Cosimano drags the reader on one hell of a ride with Finlay's hijinks being quite entertaining. Fun read.

Mountain of the Dead by Jeremy Bates

 

Mountain of the Dead by Jeremy Bates - 508 pages

Fact: During the night of February 1, 1959, in the remote reaches of Siberia, nine Russian hikers slash open their tent from the inside and flee into a blizzard in subpolar temperatures.

Fact: By morning all are dead, several having suffered gruesome, violent deaths. What happened to them has baffled investigators and researchers to this day.

It has become known as the Dyatlov Pass Incident.

Now, an American true-crime writer seeking answers to the enduring mystery sets out to retrace the hikers steps on their fateful expedition. However, nothing can prepare him for what he is about to discover…

I gave this book a 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.  I didn't love it or hate it.  I felt that the first half was a bit slow but once it started picking up I didn't want to stop reading.  Just a warning, it does get a little gory.

Real Murders by Charlaine Harris

 Real Murders by Charlaine Harris, 290 pages

Aurora Teagarden is shocked to discover a member of the Real Murders that has been really murdered. When bodies continue to drop in the small southern community--murders based on historic, well-known murders--nearly every member of the Real Murders killed or implicated in a killing. Roe finds herself racing to discover who's behind the murder madness before it's too late. 

I loved Charlaine Harris' Lily Bard series and enjoyed the Southern Vampire novels, so I thought I'd give the Teagarden mysteries a go. The debut novel was pretty solid, but it didn't grab me as instantly as some of Harris' other offerings. 

The Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah

 

The Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah-272 pages

Hercule Poirot is travelling by luxury passenger coach from London to the exclusive Kingfisher Hill estate. Richard Devonport has summoned him to prove that his fiancée, Helen, is innocent of the murder of his brother, Frank. There is one strange condition attached to this request: Poirot must conceal his true reason for being there from the rest of the Devonport family.

On the coach, a distressed woman leaps up, demanding to disembark. She insists that if she stays in her seat, she will be murdered. A seat-swap is arranged, and the rest of the journey passes without incident. But Poirot has a bad feeling about it, and his fears are later confirmed when a body is discovered in the Devonports' home with a note that refers to "the seat that you shouldn’t have sat in."

Not as good as her previous "Agatha Christie" novels.  It was ok.  Even though I am still looking forward to reading her next Hercule Poirot mystery.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris - 292 pages

Sookie Stackhouse -- a waitress in small town Bon Temps, Louisiana -- has a small disability.  She can read minds.  This has caused her problems her entire life as she must guard against the minds of everyone around her.  Until she meets Bill, a vampire.  Turns out she can't hear the minds of vampires.  Things would be perfect except for the vampire-related murders in town . . . .

This is the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.  I picked it up while waiting for another book to come in. I thought it was a fun, quick read.  It was the easiest book to get into of the Charlaine Harris series that I've tried so far.  I'll definitely try the next book in the series.

The Murder House by James Patterson and David Ellis

The Murder House by James Patterson and David Ellis, 451 pages

In James Patterson's latest novel, Jenna Murphy is a former New York City detective who returns to where she grew up in the Hamptons.  Number 7 Ocean Drive is a beautiful mansion that sits along the beach.  The house is hiding a horrible past.  Number 7 Ocean Drive was the scene of many horrific killings that have never been solved.  Now empty, Number 7 Ocean Drive is known as the Murder House.  The Murder House is full of suspenseful twists and turns. Will Jenna solve the mystery of the Murder House before she becomes the next victim?

Godchild by Kaori Yuki

Godchild, v.1 by Kaori Yuki - 208 pages
Godchild, v.2 by Kaori Yuki - 208 pages

Lord Cain became the head of the Hargreaves family upon his father's death.  But is his father really dead?  Why does death follow Lord Cain around?  And how are the two questions connected?
This series is a sequel to the Cain series which focuses on Cain's father.  I'm thinking that there might be a lot of back story in that series that would help to make this one make more sense.  It seems that this series focuses on various murders that Cain happens upon and that he then solves.  A lot of the murders are based upon nursery rhymes and classic books.  Some of the mysteries are better done than others.