Brotherhood In Death by JD Robb Book 42 of the In Death series Narrated by Susan Ericksen Genre: scifi crime fiction Format: ebook & audiobook About Brotherhood In Death: Sometimes brotherhood can be another word for conspiracy... Dennis Mira just had two unpleasant surprises. First he learned that his cousin Edward was secretly meeting with a real estate agent about their late grandfather’s magnificent West Village brownstone, despite the promise they both made to keep it in the family. Then, when he went to the house to confront Edward about it, he got a blunt object to the back of the head. Luckily Dennis is married to Charlotte Mira, the NYPSD’s top profiler and a good friend of Lieutenant Eve Dallas. When the two arrive on the scene, he explains that the last thing he saw was Edward in a chair, bruised and bloody. When he came to, his cousin was gone. With the mess cleaned up and the security disks removed, there’s nothing left behind but a few traces for forensics to analyze. As a former lawyer, judge, and senator, Edward Mira mingled with the elite and crossed paths with criminals, making enemies on a regular basis. Like so many politicians, he also made some very close friends behind closed — and locked — doors. But a badge and a billionaire husband can get you into places others can’t go, and Eve intends to shine some light on the dirty deals and dark motives behind the disappearance of a powerful man, the family discord over a multimillion-dollar piece of real estate . . . and a new case that no one saw coming. Source: Info in the "About Brotherhood In Death" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25337081-brotherhood-in-death on 19/09/2015. My Thoughts: 42 books into the series... and one would expect "same old, same old" yet somehow, JD Robb manages to put a fresh spin to it all. It is a credit to her story telling abilities that this series' staying power hasn't faded on me yet. In fact, I am as enraptured with it as I ever was. I think waiting for the next book for a year may have contributed to it, that every time I get my hands on the next book it was like meeting a long lost friend again. Which is exactly what this book felt like. The down side is, I didn't see Bella in this book. This book also reminded me why I don't really like crime fiction... because crime fictions gotta have crime in it! Uglies in life is not my kind of thing. I'm an escapist reader. I read to escape the uglies! Having said that, JD Robb does make it worth my while to read through the uglies to read an enjoyable book! So it's 4.5, not a 5 out of 5, only by virtue of it being a crime fiction! Empirical Evaluation: Story telling quality = 5 Character development = 5 Story itself = 4 Writing Style = 5 Ending = 5 World building = 5 Cover art = 4 Pace = (13 hrs and 37 mins listening time) Plot = 4.5 Narration = 4 Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries FTC Disclosure: Ebook and audiobook copies of the book were purchased with private funds. No money received for this review.

Title: Our Little Secret Author: Roz Nay Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Publication Date: April 17, 2018 Page Count: 256 My rating: 4 1/2 stars About the book: THE TOP TEN INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELL…

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Posted first to Blog Critics as Book Review: 'The Ex', a Mystery by Alafair Burke. In The Ex by Alafair Burke, we are taken on a journey where both the past and present collide in the arrest of a Widower, Jack Harris, for a murder he claims he did not do. His past relationship with the first love of his life is soon to become his lifeline to reality as he begins a fight for both sanity and freedom. Having lost his beloved wife three years previous, he has finally thought to begin again. That is when his life again begins to unravel. His only help is with the woman who first broke his heart, Olivia, one of the city’s best criminal defense attorneys. Yet can he convince her of his innocence? The circumstances surrounding the murder point directly to him as the killer. Olivia wants to be there for him, she believes she knows him well, but time could have changed him, and the death of his wife may have been a catalyst that sent him over the edge. One of those killed in the shooting is a part of a lawsuit that involves the death of his wife, and she has some doubts. She finally decides she is will to representing his as a way to make up for her own past with him and her own guilt in feeling somewhat responsible for his state of mind. But what she finds is that not everything is as clear as it should be, and she may not have known him as well as she thought. Can she help him without getting caught up in her own past and lay her own demons and doubts aside. She refuses to believe his guilt, but what if she is wrong. Burke takes us into the lives of everyday people and sprinkles both doubt and belief, alternating between both past and present to bring us a story of hurt and anger, as well as love. Her characters are full of both flaws and mistakes, making them very likable, and drawing your involvement. She weaves both past and present together in such a way that you feel as though you have always known the characters and even understand the motivations. If you enjoy mystery and investigation you will find this to be a great work. If you are looking for a book to curl up with that keeps you entertained then you have found it. Burke has done another great job of bringing her characters to life. Rating 4/5

December 2020 book releases catching my attention plus my top picks of new fiction published in July - November 2020. Which titles will you be gifting yourself?

This is the first book of a trilogy. The story begins during the early years of China's 'Cultural Revolution.' Ye Wenjie, a young astrophysicist, sees her father - a physics professor - tortured and murdered by a group of young Red Guards. Like many educated citizens Ye Wenjie is labeled a 'counter-revolutionary' and sent to cut trees for the Construction Corps before being recruited to work at a secret facility called Red Coast Base. At first Ye Wenjie has limited access to the base's surreptitious activities but in time her abilities and intelligence give her wide access to the installation. Over time Ye Wenjie makes some startling discoveries and engages in some questionable behavior. (To say more would lead to spoiler territory.) Some years later, when the Cultural Revolution wanes, Ye Wenjie is allowed to return home and become a university professor. In current times an applied physicist named Wang Miao - who's developed a very strong nanomaterial - is recruited by a committee composed of military officers/police. They ask Wang to help investigate a rash of physicist suicides. Wang reluctantly agrees and is assisted by a suspended cop called Da Shi - a disheveled, abrasive, pushy, off-putting guy. > As things turn out though, Da Shi's ability to think outside the box is useful and his common sense is comforting....so I developed quite a liking for the fellow. While Wang Miao is looking into the physicist suicides he develops peculiar/frightening 'vision problems' and starts to play an immersive computer game called "Three Body." The game is set on Trisolaris, a distant planet inhabited by extraterrestrials. Trisolaris has a very unstable environment. During 'chaotic periods' (extremely hot or cold) most Trisolarans are dehydrated, rolled up, and stored in dehydratories. During 'stable periods' (mild weather) the Trisolarans are rehydrated and go about their business. Still, there are frequent 'crashes' when the entire Trisolaran civilization is destroyed and has to start over. The shifts between chaotic and stable periods on Trisolaris are completely random and abrupt. Thus the player's goal is to discover why they happen and to predict long-term stable periods. Wang determines that the chaos occurs because the planet has three suns....thus the 'three-body problem.' [Note: On the internet the three-body problem is defined as follows: "the problem of taking an initial set of data that specifies the positions, masses and velocities of three bodies for some particular point in time and then determining the motions of the three bodies, in accordance with Newton's laws of motion and universal gravitation."] In essence it's almost impossible to accurately predict the motion of Trisolaris' three suns.....but Wang Miao thinks he can do it. As the story continues to unfold it turns out that Ye Wenjie's experiences at Red Coast Base, the physicist suicides, Wang Miao's nanomaterial research, and the three-body game are all connected. And they have something to do with the fact that humans have managed to contact an alien civilization. (Again, more information would be a spoiler.) The story addresses an interesting topic: how would people react if they knew there were other intelligent beings in the universe? And what would happen if the other beings were on their way here? (I've always thought extraterrestrials - if they found out about Earth - might come here, wipe us out, and move in. But maybe that's just me....LOL) There's a lot of physics jargon in the book and some fancy shenanigans with protons that stretch suspension of disbelief to the max...even for sci-fi. In the end, though, I enjoyed the book very much. China provides a great (and unusual) background for a science fiction book and the story is riveting, with interesting characters. Highly recommended to fans of science fiction. I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. The story is being adapted for a series on Netflix. Rating: 4.5 stars

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Anna Browne leads a pretty ordinary life, spending time with her close friends when she isn't working as a receptionist for the Daily Messenger newspaper. But her ordinary life is given a boost when she starts to receive anonymous gifts, which are always wrapped in brown paper and delivered to her workplace. The gifts are beautiful and Anna begins to shine brighter with each new delivery. But who is sending the gifts? And why? I loved the premise of the book and was instantly intrigued about who Anna's mysterious gift-giver was. I was almost as eager to see what was contained in each parcel as Anna - and her workmates - were when each one arrived at the Daily Messenger's reception desk. It's such a romantic idea and I loved how Anna began to blossom, her confidence growing with each parcel she receives. One of the aspects I liked most about the book was the care and detail that went into the packages - and not just from the sender. Miranda Dickinson described the packages so evocatively, not only from the sight but the scents and the memories each one evoked. We learn about Anna's childhood, which wasn't always a happy one, and see that Anna deserved this injection of glamour and attention. She's a warm and sweet character so I was hoping she'd get a happy ending. She obviously cares about her friends and I loved the friendship she has with her elderly neighbour, taking the time to visit and really listen, which makes a huge difference to the quality of her neighbour's life. While I liked the character of Anna, I think my favourite of all was security guard Ted. He's such a larger-than-life character and he really jumped off the page for me. He sometimes takes his job a bit too seriously but he's a fun, vibrant character and I really enjoyed his scenes in the book. Fellow receptionist Sheniece also grew on by the end. To begin with, I thought was rather shallow but I started to see a more caring side. While the majority of the story revolves around Anna, there are little snippets from other characters too and I found this aspect interesting as we find out how the people around Anna see her and the whole parcel situation. It was great to have this secret insight into Anna and, for me, it gave a more rounded view. A Parcel For Anna Browne is a fabulously feel-good story full of charming characters, hot heroes and plenty of drama and intrigue.