The Trainee Undercover by Brenda Shaw

R4R- I received this book in exchange of an honest review.

Rating :4/5

This is my first book by this author and I am impressed.

The book involves 3 teenagers trying to help their friend by finding his dad’s blackmailer.

George, Alex, Angela and Harry have been friends since they were six. George-an aspiring photographer,  Angela – future lawyer, Harry- a tech wiz and Alex – interested in pursuing criminal justice. The friends met at Harry’s garage as usual when George suddenly shocks the others by saying he will be moving to America as his father is being blackmailed to not to got the police with  his findings of embezzlement at his work place.

Hearing this Alex,who likes to solve puzzle,  asks George to take him to his dad .He  convinces George’s dad to let him and his friends solve the blackmail issue.Alex and his friends soon set out to investigate the issue with their amateurish investigative skills.

I found the book very interesting and this book took me back to my Enid Blyton(Famous Five) days. I loved the plot and the characters, the way these friends figure things out and put the clues together. Though the book was interesting, I felt there were too many characters involved when it came to the  murder and embezzlement plot. This sometimes confused me. Other wise it is an interesting read.

Grab a copy!!

 

The Trainee Undercover

The Guardians Trilogy by Nora Roberts

Rating: 4/5

One of my favorite author of all times. I have read most of her books.

This series is about three goddesses who create 3 stars ( fire, ice and water) for their new queen, but before it can be gifted to the queen their evil sister tries to get the powerful stars.

The goddess to save the stars throw in different directions on earth and wait for 3 women and 3 men to unite these stars and bring back the glory destroying the dark.

In the first book (Stars of Fortune) : Sasha Riggs , a seer is haunted by visions of a Greek island where she finds herself with 5 others. When she follows her vision and reaches the Greek island , she recognizes the other 5 people from her vision.Sarah is the glue that holds this six member team that will find the stars.

Bran , a magician finds himself attracted to Sarah and supports her when she finds herself. Together the 6 must find the fire star and learn to work as one in a short time.

In the second book (Bay of Sighs) : This book is about finding the water star. Annika, a mermaid must learn to exist in this world. I loved Annika’s character the innocent wonder and her positive attitude is amazing throughout the story.

Sawyer King a time traveler with a compass, is drawn to Annika’s free spirit. In this book it is Annika and sawyer who must find the water star while the evil goddess Nerezza enlists the help of a human to capture Annika and find the water star.

In the third book (Island of Glass) : The final book is about finding the last star (ice star) and sending it back to the island of glass where the goddess live.

Riley , a shape shifter and an archeologist and Doyle ,an immortal warrior will be the ones finding the star. Doyle has closed of his heart centuries ago and Riley the lone wolf understands this better. Riley and Doyle two very strong and stubborn personalities must let go of  their differences and accept that the attraction is more than a fling.

 

The Guardians Trilogy

 

The Virgin of the Wind Rose: A Christopher Columbus Mystery by Glen Craney

R4R -I received this in exchange of an honest review.

Rating: 3/5

The book is about the mystery of why Christopher Columbus travelled to the lands unknown.

Jacqueline Quatermane , a state department lawyer, when hears about her fiancée’ s murder begins an investigation. On trying to solve the murder she comes across  a magical word square in an underground church that protects the tomb of Adam. She travels across the world to solve this mystery which further gets to another mystery involving Christopher columbus.

I felt the book was little slow but hats off to the author for her fantastic research into the history.

If you are interested in a historical mystery then this one is for you.

The Virgin of the Wind Rose: A Christopher Columbus Mystery

The Fixer series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The series has 2 books till now :

• The Fixer  –           Rating:5/5
• The Long Game–  Rating:5/5

I definitely enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next book.

I rarely enjoy young adult novels but this kept me engrossed. If you liked the telecoms series “Scandal” then this is definitely  for you.

The first book introduces Tess Kendrick , a 16-year old living with her grandpa suffering from Alzheimer. Tess’ school , when they know about her grandpa’s condition calls her sister from DC. Tess and her sister Ivy don’t get along well.

Ivy uproots Tess and enrolls her into Hardwicke Academy a , a school for the rich and powerful in DC. Ivy is a fixer in DC and quite powerful. Unaware about her sister ,Tess starts school where the other students knowing her connection assumes Tess to be their fixer.  As students  comes to her with problems she accidentally tangles into a conspiracy that goes beyond the school gates and what do you expect this is DC. Politics starts from school.

The second book continues with Tess uncovering powerful secrets that could damage many if brought to light. Ivy on the other hand handles a very dangerous case where there might be a terrorist attack in DC. Ivy has to find the “where” before all hell breaks loose.Tess also uncovers secrets about her heritage and the twist in the end is totally unexpected. Tess learns that power comes with great responsibility.

I would definitely recommend this for political thriller lovers!! Grab It.

The Fixer

The Long Game

 

The River Killings by Merry Jones

Rating : 3.5/5

I liked the book. It was a little slow for my taste.

The story starts with Zoe an art therapist trying to have a calm summer vacation rowing which ends up being a completely opposite vacation with murder and mayhem.

Susan a defense lawyer and Zoe’s close friend asks Zoe to row with her one night. As they row faster they end up flipping their boat and ending up in water. When Zoe comes up for air she looks around and finds bodies floating.Scared Zoe and Susan call police. Nick a detective and Zoe’s boyfriend leads the investigation.

The investigation shows there were 19 bodies and all were Asian females leading to believe a human trafficking ring was active in the area. After they find the women Susan and Zoe are harassed by a FBI agent, a priest and an old lady asking about what they saw the night they found the bodies. On top of this Zoe’s house in broken in and Susan gets car jacked. Also Zoe’s daughter Molly ( a 6-year old) is followed by a lady in blue car.

Are all the events related or are they different? Will Zoe and Susan be safe?

The River Killings

 

 

The Forgotten by David Baldacci

Rating: 5/5

I loved the book. As always the author has written a nail biting,  suspense filled, fast paced action thriller.

Army special agent John Puller gets a letter from his aunt stating that Paradise (a town in Florida) is not a place as the name suggests. So he arrives at Paradise to talk to his aunt where he finds her dead. The police rules out the death to be an accident. Though John suspects it is anything but, especially after reading his aunt’s letter and  starts investigating .

When he investigates , several others die and their death looks like an accident( similar to his aunt’s)- coincidence?Are the deaths connected to his aunt’s letter,  where it is written “people are not what they seem“.

John retraces his aunt’s path and finds that the beautiful coast of paradise is also hell to some. The calm beaches not just attracts tourist but also attracts sinister activities at night.

The twist at the end proves that appearances are deceptive. If you are in a mood for a good thriller, read this.

The Forgotten

Corkscrew by Richard Knight Armstrong

*R4R*

Rating: 3/5

I liked the book but i didn’t give 4 stars is because i felt it was slow paced.

Harry Ransom and Eleanor Tyler find their common and close friend charlie dead in the party charlie hosts.Though it seemed natural at first, later with the events happening it looked more and more as murder.Although the evidence points to natural cause.

To avenge the murder of their friend harry and eleanor start following clues.Once they start following clues, trouble follows them to stop them before they find the killer.

Though not fast paced it was an interesting read.

Corkscrew