Tag: Mystery

The Idaho Four – An American Tragedy by James Patterson and Vicky Ward

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

A captivating and bizarre murder case. ~Sheila

Saturday, November 13th, 2022, Moscow Idaho. Four College students, Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen, return to their off-campus house around 2:00 am after an evening out. All lived in that house with two other roommates, except for Ethan, who was dating Xana and had come to stay the night. After a DoorDash order at 4 am, all were in their rooms.

Around this same time, a masked man entered the home through a sliding glass door. While both Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke were also in the home at the time in their respective rooms, and both heard some noises, they also had been out drinking and didn’t think much of it. It wasn;t until the next morning, when their friends were not up yet that the 4 bodies were discovered.

The ability to trst the world around me had been taken away. What he did shattered me in places I didn;t know could break. I was barely 19 when he did this.
~ Dylan Mortenson survivig roommate – July 2025 at the hearing and sentencing of Bryan Kohberger

Recently looking for my next read (listen), I came across this title. With the trial scheduled for this month, and admittedly, not remembering much about the case, I chose this book.

Diving into the bigger picture, learning more about the student victims and who they were is an important part of this story. While some may say the back story is not needed as this is such a public case – I respectfully disagree. There are as we all know – many terrible things happening in our world, while many/most of us tuned into this tragedy in 2022, not all including myself, have kept up with all the goings on surrounding the case, including the upcoming trial – which happened to take place while I was listening to this book on audio.

The telling of the back story, the students, and information on who Bryan Kohberger is and was at the time of the crime, is well done and gives you a foundation of the back story as the book moves into the investigation that leads to Kohberger’s arrest.

Now, of course, knowing what happened just a few days ago – I have great empathy for the families that have lived with this the past few years and will live with this the rest of their lives. Knowing first hand the loss of a child, I can imagine the relief of the trial – and perhaps at least a sense of some sort of closure – although not knowing the why… would certainly be something that would personally haunt me.

Overall, a well-written account of the murders, and worthy of your time for those who would like to know more about the beginning. I also just learned that there is a documentary, One Night in Idaho: The College Murders” exclusively available on Prime Video.
Fox News Families Confront Bryan

Rated: 3.5 out of 5
Read Author Before: Patterson? Of course!
Read Author Again: Yes
Where Read: Audio – mostly in car and home

The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)5 Comments

Holy shnikies…… ~Sheila

Sarah Morgan is a named partner of her law firm. At 33 years old, she is proud of her accomplishments and good at what she does, even though, admittedly, she misses out on events with her husband and time alone together in their newly acquired vacation home.

Sarah’s husband, Adam, has not done as well in his career as a writer… he spends many weekends at the vacation home as a chance to dig into his writing, but honestly, he spends more time staring at the ceiling than putting words to paper. Most often, Sarah has too much to do to go with him.

Then one weekend everything changes. Adam comes home early from his weekend writing retreat, missing his wife. A few short hours later, he is arrested when a woman is found murdered in the bed of their second home….
Sarah suddenly finds herself reeling as she gets not only the news of her husband’s arrest for murder, but also the fact that he has been having an affair with the victim. The odds are stacked against Adam, and Sarah knows she is the only Lawyer who can give Adam a fighting chance of getting out of a life sentence ….
But can she? Can she defend him all the while looking the other way to Adams’ self-confessed infidelity to save him from going down for a murder she is pretty sure he did not commit?

Holy smokes, this was good. A fast-paced read that left me with a big WOW at the end. This is one of those books I want to say so much but feel I can say nothing, as I want you to read it and pull all the amazing gems out of this one all on your own.

There are many twists are turns, and if you are trying to keep track – there are so many suspects but in a believable way where you can see why they would have done it… and still, at least in my case…. You have no idea.

With a little essence of Caroline Kepness (author of YOU) and definitely a little McFadden (but dare I say better than McFadden)…. absolutely worth your time to dig on in.

Rated: 4 out of 5
Read Author Before: No
Read Author Again: oh yeah!
Possible Triggers: a little sex, murder (but not graphic)
Where Read: listened to at home and in the car

Listen For The Lie by Amy Tintera

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)4 Comments

Definitely listen to on audio – I laughed out loud more times than I can count. ~Sheila

Lucy knew that going back to her hometown was going to be a challenge after all these years and all the rumors that had surrounded her ever since her best friend Savvy had been murdered and Lucy had been named a suspect. But Grandma has asked for her to come home for her birthday, and Lucy can not bring herself to turn down Grandma.

Ben Owens, host of the popular Podcast Listen For The Lie, has set his sights on the mystery behind the unsolved case on Savvy…placing him in the area where the murder took place, at the same time that Lucy, the only real suspect, will be home. What luck! Putting fuel on the fire of this unsolved mystery only serves to reignite everyone’s opinion on what they think happened and a thirst to know the truth, especially in Lucy’s own hometown.

The unfriendly reactions, the hateful words that accompany Lucy’s homecoming are definitely harsh, and the Podcast just keeps piling on as friends and family members all fall under the spell of being interviewed for the popular listen.

Truth is, not even Lucy knows if the rumors are true. Lucy has no memory of what happened, only that she was found covered in her best friend’s blood with no recollection of how or what happened.
…And there is this voice in her head… that makes Lucy think that maybe-just maybe, everyone is right about her.

I am always pushing my friends to try audio (just ask them). And – when doing so there are always certain books I recommend to them that really pop in audio format, and in turn I hope they will listen and become an audiobook listener as I am.
This is one of those books.

I typically avoid reading reviews on a book I plan to read/listen to as I want to form my own opinion and not go into a book with any bias one way or another. I also try to not read reviews before I write my own for the same reason… However, I did see a little mention of this book before diving into it that called it witty and funny – two things I very much like, but do not necessarily associate these two words with a thriller.
Truth is – Listen For The Lie can be funny… admittedly, the dark humor had me laugh out loud many times while listening. Fans of YOU by Caroline Kepnes (also a Netflix Series) I believe, will enjoy this one.

Listen For The Lie can definitely be dark, but in a way that I actually enjoyed. This is not the first time I have listened to a book that has a podcast built into it, but like the others I have read/listened to that have done this – I like it. It’s a great addition to this listen.

Overall – just a really good listen with great narration, and I was all in to find out who did it.

Well done and recommended.

Rated: 4 out of 5 – Solid listen
Read Author Before: No
Read Author Again: I would!
Possible Triggers: Semi-graphic descriptions of killing someone
Where Read: Listened to at home and in the car


Nobody’s Fool by Harlan Coben

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)Leave a comment

Fantastic revisit to a favorite author ~ Sheila

When college student Sami Kierce is backpacking in Spain with friends, he meets Anna, a girl who takes his breath away. When he wakes up one morning with a bloody knife in his hand and her body lying next to him, he panics, and he runs.

Twenty-two years later, Sami is happily married with a young son. He works as a Private Investigator and teaches night school to a group of want-to-be sleuths in New York City.
One evening while teaching his class, a girl hovers in the back of the room, and Sami’s blood runs cold. There is no doubt that this is Anna. When they make eye contact, she bolts out the door and out of sight in a matter of seconds.
Sami has no choice but to open the door to the past. Is this girl really Anna, and if so, what happened all those years ago…. Sami soon discovers that this particular door holds way more secrets and darkness than even he could have imagined.

A little history here…. in my twenties, Harlan Coben was one of a small handful of go-to authors for me. This was pre-book club, my boys were young, and I enjoyed reading in the evenings. This photo is from one of the years at the Book Expo in New York…. I would guess 2010, 2011…

I have been so excited to see that a series of Harlan’s books has been made to movies on Netflix.

How crazy cool is that?
So – in recent searching for that next read/audio… I came across his newest release, Nobody’s Fool and dug into a blast from the past.

Remember when mystery/thrillers were just that? A good storyline, a solid protagonist, and popcorn worthy? That is what Coebn feels like. No offense to the newer popular twisty unreliable narrator, psychological thrillers of today that can feel more like a jerky rollercoaster ride that is traveling through a haunted fun house… I like those too, but ya know what I mean.

Digging into this book, it felt wonderful to meet up with Coben again. I forgot how funny he is. There are MANY great one-liners throughout the book that made me laugh out loud. I wish I had written them down, but meh… also cool that you can discover them for yourself.

Great storyline that flowed well, kept me wondering what was going on, and came out the other side finishing well. I enjoy this read and can honestly say Coben still has that great touch – a solid thriller, and worth your time.

Here are some of my other Harlan Coben reviews (I have read more than this – but remember I started pre-book club, which was also pre-reviewing.

Don’t Let Go
Fool Me Once
Missing You
Six Years
Seconds Away
Deal Breaker
One False Move
Caught
Hold Tight

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

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Delightfully smart and twisty. ~Sheila

Evie Porter has her next assignment – Ryan Somner. The name and location have been delivered by her boss Mr. Smith -who she has never met… only communicated by phone and delivered packages and then a deposit into her bank account.

This new job, however, is a little trickier… Ryan is kind and fun to be with and easy on the eyes. Despite herself, Evie likes him and she knows, he likes her too. For the first time… Evie allows herself to envision a different life that does not include lying, deceit, theft, and betrayal. Something that some may call – normal.

But so many things need to happen for that to ever be a reality – first, there is no way out from Mr Smith’s watchful eye… Second, there is a reason that she was assigned to Ryan and there is something shady there… and third –
well. Evie Porter is not even her name. Nor were the many names she has called herself that came before that.

I have had a nice streak lately of books that grab me immediately. First Lie Wins was no exception. Not only was this a good thriller – it was different than anything I have read before (also a plus). Often when an author creates as many paths as Ashley Elston does here, there is usually a path that is left unfinished – which can weigh on me like a loose thread… but not here – while there are many moving pieces – in the end, they all fit and you can find how each part, leads to the satisfying hard-earned finish.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book with the one exception that has nothing to do with the storyline or author… just as it was digging in and things were starting to fall into place – there were 17 pages in my copy (pictured above). While I could not wait to get a new copy to move on I trudged forward with the gap and pieced together what I could of what must have happened in the “in-between” of page 278 and page 295.

While a new author to me, I nosed around her website and there are a couple of back titles that caught my eye… if you check it out I am sure you can know which would be right up my alley 🙂

Rated: 4.5 out of 5
Read Author Before: No
Read Author Again: I think I would
Where Read: Fort Myers Florida

The God Of The Woods by Liz Moore

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments
Every bit as good as I was hoping it would be! ~Sheila

In August of 1975, a Camp counselor awakens to find one of her campers missing. Barbara Van Laar is not just any camper, she is the daughter of the Summer Camp Owners and also the sister of the boy who went missing from his very camp over a decade ago.

As the police are called in, and Counselors, Campers, Camp Staff, as well as Family Members are questioned… a tale begins to unfold like no other of betrayal and deceit, long-time grudges, and long-hidden secrets.

I don’t often get to sit and really READ READ. Like – a qty of time. This was a treat for me with days of RV travel and nothing but time while on the road I read this in two days. I loved this book and had no trouble picking it up and reading it for hours. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the tale told by so many different narrators – usually I do not like a lot of different characters to keep track of but in this case, they were well-developed and easy to follow the narration changes as pieces of the story unfolded from what happened then – to what was happening now.

Kudos also for the timeline that was being focussed on between 1950 – Fall 1975 was at the start of each chart with the timing of that chapter highlighted. I thought that was brilliant and I have never seen this done in such a way before.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend digging into a great campfire tale.

Rated: 5 out of 5
Read Author Before: No
Read Author Again: I would!
Where Read: In the RV traveling between Minnesota and Tennessee (finished in Tennessee)

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)2 Comments

I’m not sure when the twisty turny double WOW’s began in books but I sure do love them. ~Sheila

Catherine, 24, finds her mom to be an enigma. Ruth speaks little of her past. She keeps to herself, nothing that really makes her stand out – and honestly, Catherine never really has given it much thought beyond feeling this was normal. The fact that she doesn.t know anything about her father? Well… that can be normal too.

Ruth is anything but ordinary. She may seem like someone who lives a quiet life but no one really knows what she hides of her past… what she fears of the future… and what keeps her awake at night in the present.

Well… almost no one knows..

As Catherine prepares to move to start her career in Baltimore, she finds out her mom may be in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Immediately concerned, Catherine changes her plans to be there for her mother. While looking into their past for clues if this is hereditary, Catherine unearths more than she bargained for…

Leaving her questioning everything.

It was…. juicy good. I like a good twisty mystery.. what I like even more are the books that are doubley twisty… you know the ones… when you think you know…and maybe you do know… but wait!

There’s more!

It has been a fun journey to read Pekkanen for years from her early books to now and see how her writing has changed and become even more addicting. I find myself waiting for what she will do next! A good read!

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)37 Comments

Review from my 2005 book journals:

In summer 1954, two U.S. marshals, protagonist Teddy Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, arrive on Shutter Island, not far from Boston, to investigate the disappearance of patient Rachel Solando from the prison/hospital for the criminally insane that dominates the island. The marshals’ digging gets them nowhere fast as they learn of Rachel’s apparently miraculous escape past locked doors and myriad guards, and as they encounter roadblocks and lies strewn across their path-most notably by the hospital’s chief physician, the enigmatic J. Cawley-and pick up hints of illegal brain surgery performed at the hospital. Then, as a major hurricane bears down on the island, inciting a riot among the insane and cutting off all access to the mainland, they begin to fear for their lives. All of the characters-particularly Teddy, haunted by the tragic death of his wife-are wonderful creations, but no more wonderful than the spot-on dialogue with which Lehane brings them to life and the marvelous prose that enriches the narrative. There are mysteries within mysteries in this novel, some as obvious as the numerical codes that the missing patient leaves behind and which Teddy, a code breaker in WWII, must solve; some as deep as the most profound fears of the human heart.

◊        ◊        ◊         ◊          ◊        ◊         ◊

I had found this book through Swaptree and when it arrived I looked at the cover with a picture of a prison on an island on it and thought. “What was I thinking?”  How did this book get on my wish list?  Then I remembered, Dennis Lehane wrote Mystic River, which I loved (the book anyway, the movie I hated).  So why not a book on a prison?

This book turned out to be a two day read that I could hardly put down.  US  Marshall Teddy Daniels is a strong character who had a mission on the island to find a missing prisoner who has done the impossible and escaped somewhere on the island.  Yet Teddy’s motives are not all one sided.  Lehane keeps this book flowing forward with twists and turns and when it is all done –

You sit back and can’t believe that you didn’t see that coming, yet knowing that Lehanes’ clues are so well woven into  the story itself that how could you have known?

An absolute delight to read.  This book which came out in 2004 and I am looking forward to the movie, although I do not remember the book being as scary as the movie sounds.

I highly recommend this read.


Have you read the book or seen the movie?  Are you planning to?


Night Gardener by George Pelecanos

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)3 Comments

When the body of a local teenager is found in a community garden, detective Gus Ramone relives Night Gardenerintense memories of a twenty-year old case. Back when he was a rookie, Ramone and his partner “Doc” Holiday assisted legendary detective T.C. Cook in the investigation of a series of murders involving young victims. The killer, dubbed the “Night Gardener”, was never caught.

The fierce sense of anger, regret, and purpose that once burned among these three men comes rushing back as they race to vanquish the monster who has stalked their dreams. For Cook, now retired, it means solving one of the few cases that eluded him. For Holiday, whose career as a cop was derailed, it’s one last chance to redeem himself. For Ramone, catching the killer means not only doing his job but knowing that his own teenage son, who is a friend of the dead boy, won’t be the next victim.

This was my first Pelecanos book and I really found that he knows how to create characters.  Not only were the characters vivid, life like people who you could picture living in your neighborhood, but Pelecanos created great backgrounds for them as well – so you didn’t just know them as they were today – but how they used to be as well as their families.  As each important character unfolded, I felt I really had a clear picture of who they were, well, as clean as you can have in a murder mystery….  (just when you think you know someone…)

The story line revolves around a 20 year old murder case and the three cops who were involved.  This book brings the three back to together on a current murder case that seems to have the same feel as the one from all those years ago that never was solved.  While the story line was great – I found it took a long time for the three police to get together.  Almost two thirds of the way through the book.

I enjoyed Gus Ramone’s character and family.  As a central character he made the book for me.  I enjoyed his scenes with his family and his dealings with his children and the troubles at school.

The ending – without giving anything away.  Is well done and I applaud Pelecanos for this writing.  I was pleased to find that the book ended with a great closing that sometimes, often times, is missed in many good reads.

A great book for the fans of crime and action stories.

*Note – strong language in some parts of the book

Don’t forget there is a giveway offer for 5 copies of this book!  Contest is listed here:  Giveaway for The Night Gardener.  This giveaway ends the 30th of June so sign up today!  🙂

Audio Book Giveaway: The Swimsuit by James Patterson

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

Thanks to Hachette Audio Books, I am able to offer 3 of this audio book for giveaway!

Syd, a breathtakingly beautiful supermodel on a photo shoot in Hawaii, disappears. Fearing the worst, her parents travel to Hawaii to investigate for themselves, never expecting the horror that awaits them.

Here is what you can do to receive  chances to win this audio book:

1.  Post here with your favorite James Patterson  book title.  If you haven’t read Patterson, share your favorite mystery/suspense author.  (Be sure you leave me a way to connect with you in the event you are one of the winners!)

2.  For a second chance to win, please post this contest to your blog and post a link to it for me to see.

3.  For a third chance to win, Follow me on Twitter!

Contest will run through July 13th.  The winners are chosen by using random.com.  I will post the 5 winners here as well as email you for your mailing information.  The books will come from the publisher.  Please US entries only and no po boxes.

Visit James Patterson’s website at www.jamespatterson.com