Review: A Novel Crime by Deborah Vadas Levison

Product Description:

Struggling romance writer and recent divorcée Marcy Jo Codburn feels like a failure. She’s green with author envy and longing for a book deal, a launch party with cupcakes, and the admiration of her daughter. But her dream of literary success is fading faster than her beige hair dye. When she witnesses celebrated author Francesca Barber in a compromising position, Marcy sees her chance. Transforming into Summer Branigan, her bolder, blonder pen name, she leverages Francesca’s secret to secure the ultimate coauthor.

As their collaboration spirals from Marcy’s modest Connecticut home to Francesca’s lavish Hamptons estate, both women discover that in the cutthroat world of publishing, every story has its price. With looming deadlines, a kidnapping plot gone awry, and more than one fraud to hide, their twisted partnership careens toward a surprise ending neither could have written.

In this darkly comic page-turner, critically acclaimed author Deborah Levison skewers the publishing industry with razor-sharp wit. A Novel Crime asks just how far an aspiring writer will go to see her name on a book jacket—and what happens when the stories we tell start to write themselves.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed the book overall but I knocked my rating by a star because of the ending. Yes, the book was dark humor so I expected a lot of over the top scenarios but the ending was just too much for me. 

That aside I had so much fun alternating between loving and hating Marcy and would definitely  recommend this for anyone who loves twisted humor. 

Review: A Novel Crime by Deborah Vadas Levison

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2026/02/review-novel-crime-by-deborah-vadas.html

Review: Outside the Lines by Sheila Lowe

Product Description: 
What should have been a routine afternoon on the witness stand for Forensic Handwriting Expert Claudia Rose turns into a shocking assault that leaves her bruised and bloodied. Following on the heels of a series of other traumatic events, the attack sends Claudia to the brink of a breakdown. 

Her fiancé, L.A.P.D. Homicide Detective Joel Jovanic, learns of the attack while leading a homicide investigation into a mailbox bomb. An innocent housekeeper in the tony Venice neighborhood is dead and the homeowner is the CEO of a major pesticide-producing corporation that has been targeted in the past. When a notebook found in a geocache near the crime scene leads to the protest group People for Safe Food, Jovanic needs Claudia to identify the handwriting of a suspected eco-terrorist. 

Though she may have recovered physically from the assault, weeks later Claudia’s fears continue to plague her. Desperate to get away, she accepts an invitation to lecture in the UK, but her trip turns into a nightmare when she runs afoul of both the FBI and New Scotland Yard. Jovanic’s homicide case has followed her to London where she finds herself unexpectedly allied with the chief suspect. 

My Thoughts:

Outside the Lines is the 6th book in the Forensic Handwriting Mysteries but it definitely stands alone. There are references to incidents in the earlier books but nothing that makes a difference in this story line.  

Forensic Handwriting Expert Claudia Rose can easily analyze a person by their handwriting. She sees what people work hard to hide. With this skill she's become a valuable part of her fiancé Joel's success as a homicide detective. 

In this case, an incident that starts out as a harmless scare tactic by a group of people protesting a pesticide corporation, turns deadly when someone is accidentally killed. Now the leader of the group is on the run and asking Claudia for help. As the lead suspect he's being chased down by Joel who warns Claudia away from him but she can't help getting involved. Now tension strains Claudia and Joel's relationship as she works on figuring a way to make things work for everyone.

My Recommendation:
I really love how Sheila builds the story. Different scenarios have you thinking you can guess at what's coming next but as you read on you realize you were wrong. Through the twists, the suspense builds up to the gratifying end. I highly recommend this book, and series, to anyone who loves a good mystery with a surprise ending.    

Review: Outside the Lines by Sheila Lowe

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2016/08/review-outside-lines-by-sheila-lowe.html

Review: The Exorcist Who Loved Me by Jennifer Savalli

Product Description:

Hiring an exorcist is not something widowed single mom Holly Archer ever thought she’d do. But the blackouts she’s been having mean someone—or something—is hijacking her body and she wants it stopped, like yesterday.

The hottie who shows up at her door is the first man who’s sparked her interest since her awful marriage. It’s no hardship to give herself over to his skills, and in short order the spirit is ejected—and Holly comes face to face with Celia, the ghost of her dead husband’s mistress.

Lawe Callahan figured this would be an easy case, and by morning he’d be headed for another town, leaving Holly and her witchy amber eyes behind. Until she agrees to help the ghost, who refuses to budge until her killer is brought to justice.

As the investigation heats up, so does Lawe and Holly’s attraction. But their differences not only threaten any chance of something real, their quest for the truth could drive a killer to tie up all loose ends—permanently.

My Thoughts:

Cheesy title aside, The Exorcist Who Loved Me was a great book. Being released by Samhain Publishing I also thought it would be a very spicy read but the romance was actually on the tamer side. My beef with romance books is how fast the main characters fall in love and jump into bed and this one is no exception but the story most definitely makes up for it.  

Being haunted by your dead husband's mistress is like the ultimate slap in the face but Holly handles it well and with Lawe's help they uncover the truth of what was thought to be Celia and Holly's husband's accidental death. The way the mystery is solved is very believable and the story flows naturally around it.

This is Book 2 in the Must Love Ghosts series but is also a stand alone as I have not read the 1st book in the series and didn't feel like anything was missing. I enjoyed this one so much, I'll most likely be going back to read book 1, Must Love Ghosts.

Product Description:I highly recommend this one for anyone who loves paranormal romance with a well balanced storyline.  

Review: The Exorcist Who Loved Me by Jennifer Savalli

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2016/02/review-exorcist-who-loved-me-by.html

Review: Mosaic by Deborah Jackson

Product Description:
It wasn’t until Carlos helped me put the pieces back together that I realized how many were missing. 

Shattered. Tormented. Brain on disconnect. 

A car accident leaves Erin Rocheford, a seventeen-year-old hockey player, fractured, disfigured, near death. Not only has her future career in the NHL been erased, but when she’s finally released from the hospital, she can barely walk, her thoughts stumble into each other, and people grimace when they see the scars crisscrossing her face. 

Erin's parents decide that a vacation in Florida, on an island of palm trees and pirate lore, is just what she needs to recover. But in her post-traumatic state, Erin is vulnerable to attack, to a ghostly invasion, and to a further fragmenting of her troubled grey matter. Soon after arriving on the island, a tale of an odd English pirate and his feisty captive—a story of defiance and decapitation—weaves itself into her mind, threatening her very soul. Erin will need to call upon every reserve in her hockey-toned body to keep from falling apart altogether, to fight back, and to protect her star player—the one boy who can see beyond the scars.

My Thoughts:
I knew that Mosaic wasn't going to be a suspense novel like the two other Jackson books I've read, Ice Tomb and Sinkhole but I wasn't disappointed. Mosaic is geared towards older teens and hits the mark unlike some YA reads that tend to shock me with the amount of sex and drugs in the story. It has just the right amount of sexual tension and relationship drama to give the book a realistic teenage feel.

The story itself is pretty interesting. Pirates, serial killers and ghosts all lend themselves to a twisting tale. Throw in a troubled teen getting over an accident, a spoiled rich girl pouting over the bad boy who dumped her, a suspicious cop who lost a daughter and an over-protective dad and you have a winner that stands above most YA books I've read. 

My Recommendation:
I recommend Mosaic for anyone who loves YA suspense. 

Review: Mosaic by Deborah Jackson

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2015/01/mosaic-by-deborah-jackson.html

Review: The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Product Description:
The FBI had one demand when they secretly teamed up Special Agent Kate O’Hare with charming con man Nicolas Fox—bring down the world’s most-wanted and untouchable felons. This time it’s the brutal leader of a global drug-smuggling empire.  The FBI doesn’t know what their target looks like, where he is, or how to find him, but Nick Fox has a few tricks up his sleeve to roust this particular Knipschildt chocolate–loving drug lord.

From the streets of Nashville to the back alleys of Lisbon, from the rooftops of Istanbul to the middle of the Thames, Nick and Kate chase their mark. When they find themselves pitted against a psychopathic bodyguard and a Portuguese enforcer who gets advice from a pickled head, they decide it’s time to enlist some special talent—talent like a machete-wielding Somali pirate, a self-absorbed actor, an Oscar-winning special effects artist, and Kate’s father Jake, a retired Special Forces operative. Together they could help make this Fox and O’Hare’s biggest win yet . . . if they survive.

My Thoughts:
I started this series with the second book, The Chase which I enjoyed. I put book one in the series on my TBR list and forgot about the series until I was offered The Job to review. Now after reading and loving this third installment I went ahead and read the short prequel, Pros and Cons and am currently reading book one, The Heist. 

This book is 100% fluff. It's a light and quick read with absurd circumstances and characters but it's a whole lot of fun. If you accept that it's fluff then you can set everything aside and love the book will the crazy goings on. 

My only gripe with the book is the relationship, or should I say lack of a relationship, between Kate and Nick. Kate obviously has feelings for Nick but does nothing about it. Being that this is the third book in the series I have a feeling that a relationship will never develop and it's already frustrating to me two books in. Just sleep together and move on already. 

My Recommendation: 
Just like the second book I recommend this for all Evanovich fans and anyone who wants a fast, easy read.

Review: The Job by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2014/11/review-job-by-janet-evanovich-and-lee.html

Review: After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman

Product Description:

When Felix Brewer meets Bernadette “Bambi” Gottschalk at a Valentine’s Dance in 1959, he charms her with wild promises, some of which he actually keeps. Thanks to his lucrative—if not all legal—businesses, she and their three little girls live in luxury. But on the Fourth of July, 1976, Bambi’s comfortable world implodes when Felix, newly convicted and facing prison, mysteriously vanishes.

Though Bambi has no idea where her husband—or his money—might be, she suspects one woman does: his mistress, Julie. When Julie disappears ten years to the day that Felix went on the lam, everyone assumes she’s left to join her old lover—until her remains are eventually found.

Now, twenty-six years after Julie went missing, Roberto “Sandy” Sanchez, a retired Baltimore detective working cold cases for some extra cash, is investigating her murder. What he discovers is a tangled web stretching over three decades that connects five intriguing women. And at the center is the missing man Felix Brewer.

Somewhere between the secrets and lies connecting past and present, Sandy will find the truth. And when he does, no one will ever be the same.

My Thoughts:

After I'm Gone is one of those books that grabs you from the first chapter and doesn't let go. It is very reminiscent of What the Dead Know also by Lippman. The story flips between several different times in the past and the book's present. During the entire book I'm wondering if they're ever going to reveal what really happened to Felix and I had to live in suspense the whole time. I zoomed through reading this one and had to shake myself awake just so I can keep reading because I had to know what happens next and couldn't afford to sleep. 

The ending wasn't at all what I expected but it was very satisfying and now I can safely say I'm a Lippman fan. After reading What the Dead Know I was super excited to read Life Sentences but that one really fell flat for me. Now I'm safely back to being a Lippman fan and will definitely be reading more of her works. 

My Recommendation:

I absolutely loved this book and am sharing it with all my friends. This is a must read for suspense lovers. 

Review: After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2014/09/review-after-im-gone-by-laura-lippman.html

Review: How to Fall by Jane Casey

Product Description: 
Sixteen-year-old Jess Tennant has never met any of her relatives, until her mom suddenly drags her out of London to spend the summer in the tiny English town where her family’s from. Her mom’s decision is surprising, but even more surprising is the town’s reaction to Jess. Everywhere she goes, people look at her like they’ve seen a ghost. In a way, they have—she looks just like her cousin Freya, who died shortly before Jess came to town.

Jess immediately feels a strange connection to Freya, whom she never got to meet alive. But the more Jess learns about the secrets Freya was keeping while she was alive, the more suspicious Freya’s death starts to look. One thing is for sure: this will be anything but the safe, boring summer in the country Jess was expecting.

My Thoughts:
How to Fall was easily one of the best YA novels I've read in a while. It had all the elements of a good mystery and what I always feel is lacking in other books, a believable plot line. That's not to say I didn't cringe at Jess' antics half the time because she was the typical teen making bad choices. It was because everything that Jess did was logical for an inquisitive teen dead set on investigating her cousin's death. 

The characters that shared the story with Jess were so well done that I felt like I knew each and everyone of them when I was in high school. I'm definitely putting book two in the series, Bet Your Life, on my to be read list.

My Recommendation:
I recommend this one for anyone who loves YA and mysteries. 

Review: How to Fall by Jane Casey

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2014/08/review-how-to-fall-by-jane-casey.html

Review: Inkslingers Ball by Sheila Lowe

Product Description:
A teenage girl, brutally murdered and left in a trash dumpster; a young man, killed in a firebombing attack; a soccer mom, shot in the living room of her home; vicious thugs whose job is to protect a suspected criminal. Just another week on rotation for LAPD detective Joel Jovanic...until he uncovers a connection between the disturbing series of vicious crimes and Annabelle Giordano, who is in the temporary custody of his soulmate, Claudia Rose. 

Annabelle is a troubled and traumatized teen who suffered the tragic loss of her mother and later witnessed the brutal murder of a beloved mentor. Neglected by a father who scarcely acknowledges her existence, it’s little wonder the girl makes some disastrous life choices. 

But she has one staunch ally in Claudia, a highly regarded forensic graphologist who digs into the darkest of human secrets through the study of handwriting. When Annabelle involves herself with a questionable tattoo artist she re-opens a door to the grim side of life and goes down a path that could get her killed. A distraught Claudia will do anything to save her, even if it means jeopardizing her relationship with Jovanic. 

My Thoughts:
After reading and loving the first three books in the series, I somehow missed the next two books but happily it didn't matter. Inkslingers Ball had the same familiar characters and even though aspects of the stories from the books I missed were referenced, I don't feel that I lost anything by not reading them. Now don't get me wrong, I'm still going to go back and greedily read every last word because I love a fresh, well planned mystery. 

What I also love about the book is that the characters have progressed. There's nothing more frustrating in a series than the characters doing the same things over again. I'm talking to you Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum)!  There's been growth for Annabelle and movement in the relationship between Claudia and Joel. It's perfect. 

My Recommendation:
I highly recommend series or even just this book for anyone who loves mysteries that are a step above cozies.  

Review: Inkslingers Ball by Sheila Lowe

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2014/07/review-inkslingers-ball-by-sheila-lowe.html

Review: The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Product Description:
Internationally renowned thief and con artist Nicolas Fox is famous for running elaborate and daring scams. His greatest con of all: convincing the FBI to team him up with the only person who has ever caught him, and the only woman to ever capture his attention, Special Agent Kate O’Hare. Together they’ll go undercover to swindle and catch the world’s most wanted—and untouchable—criminals.

Their newest target is Carter Grove, a former White House chief of staff and the ruthless leader of a private security agency. Grove has stolen a rare Chinese artifact from the Smithsonian, a crime that will torpedo U.S. relations with China if it ever becomes public. Nick and Kate must work under the radar—and against the clock—to devise a plan to steal the piece back. Confronting Grove’s elite assassins, Nick and Kate rely on the skills of their ragtag crew, including a flamboyant actor, a Geek Squad techie, and a band of AARP-card-carrying mercenaries led by none other than Kate’s dad. 

A daring heist and a deadly chase lead Nick and Kate from Washington, D.C., to Shanghai, from the highlands of Scotland to the underbelly of Montreal. But it’ll take more than death threats, trained henchmen, sleepless nights, and the fate of a dynasty’s priceless heirloom to outsmart Fox and O’Hare.

My Thoughts:
When I selected this book to review I had no idea that it was the second book in the Fox and O'Hare series. That being said the book was great as a stand alone but I would definitely love to go back and read book one, The Heist. 

I'm a huge fan of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books but never cared for any of her romance books so I was excited that she ventured into the mystery/suspense genre with a little romantic tension thrown in. Kate is the bad ass that I always hoped Stephanie would progress into but never did. 

The Chase was a quick and entertaining read. The characters were lovable and fun especially Kate's dad and his cronies. It isn't a serious mystery or true suspense but it's a lighter version that works well.

My Recommendation:
I recommend this for all Evanovich fans and anyone who wants a fast, fluffy, easy read.

Review: The Chase by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2014/05/review-chase-by-janet-evanovich-and.html

Review: Sex, Murder and a Double Latte by Kyra Davis

Blurb:

When a mystery writer cries bloody murder, everyone blames her overactive imagination . . .

Thriller scribe Sophie Katz is as hard-boiled as a woman who drinks Grande Caramel Brownie Frappuccinos can be. So Sophie knows it's not paranoia or post-divorce, living-alone-again jitters, when she becomes convinced that a crazed reader is sneaking into her apartment to reenact scenes from her books. The police, however, can't tell a good plot from an unmarked grave.

When a filmmaker friend is brutally murdered in the manner of a death scene in one of his movies, Sophie becomes convinced that a copycat killer is on the loose -- and that she's the next target. If she doesn't solve the mystery, her own bestseller will spell out her doom. Cursing her grisly imagination (why, oh, why did she have to pick the ax?), Sophie engages in some real-life gumshoe tactics. The man who swoops in to save her in dark alleys is mysterious new love interest Anatoly Darinsky. Of course, if this were fiction, Anatoly would be her prime suspect . . .

My Thoughts:
Sex, Murder and a Double Latte was my book club's August pick but it has been on my to-read list for a while now. I assumed the book was going to be somewhere along the lines of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series but I was a little disappointed. Sophie and her numerous friends have the potential to be hilarious but the writing just never gets to that level.

There was a huge build up to make you think one person is the murderer but you can see from a mile away that Sophie is wrong and it just seemed forced that she kept on with that line of thinking.

Overall I did enjoy the story and characters but I just wish there was a little more humor. I'm still going to give book two, Passion, Betrayal and Killer Highlights, a try and hope Davis works out the kinks.

Recommendation:

I recommend this one as a library read for anyone who likes light, cozy-like mysteries.

Review: Sex, Murder and a Double Latte by Kyra Davis

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2012/08/review-sex-murder-and-double-latte-by.html

Review: Trail of the Spellmans: Document #5 by Lisa Lutz

Product Description:

FOR THE FIRST TIME in Spellman history, Isabel Spellman, PI, might be the most normal member of her family. Mom has taken on an outrageous assortment of extracurricular activities—with no apparent motive. Dad has a secret. Izzy’s brother and sister are at war—for no apparent reason. And her niece keeps saying “banana” even though she hates bananas.

That’s not to say that Izzy isn’t without her own troubles. Her boyfriend, Henry Stone, keeps wanting “to talk,” a prospect Isabel evades by going out with her new drinking buddy, none other than Gertrude Stone, Henry’s mother.

Things aren’t any simpler on the business side of Spellman Investigations. First, Rae is hired to follow a girl, only to fake the surveillance reports. Then a math professor hires Izzy to watch his immaculate apartment while he unravels like a bad formula. And as the questions pile up, Izzy won’t stop hunting for the answers—even when they threaten to shatter both the business and the family.

My Thoughts:


I was so happy when I found out that The Spellmans Strike Again was not the last book in the Spellman series as I had originally thought. Lutz returns with more zany adventures for Izzy and her eccentric family. There is intrigue that weaves all the different characters into one hilarious escapade that actually made me laugh out loud at times. There is one sad note to the book but I don't want to give away any spoilers. I am anxiously awaiting the next "Document" and recommend this series for anyone who loves mysteries with plenty of humor.

Review: Trail of the Spellmans: Document #5 by Lisa Lutz

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2012/03/review-trail-of-spellmans-document-5-by.html

Review: Naked Heat by Richard Castle

When Detective Nikki Heat gets called to her most recent crime scene she gets two surprises. The victim is the despised gossip columnist, Cassidy Towne and who should happen to be sitting in Cassidy’s kitchen? None other the Jameson Rook, the journalist who was shadowing Nikki and her team and who also happened to be the one that used to steam up Nikki’s sheets. Once again they team up and try to solve Cassidy’s murder and there are plenty of suspects to choose from.

Naked Heat is a book within a TV series. The hit ABC show, Castle, is about Detective Kate Beckett and author Richard Castle and within the series Castle is releasing his books that are written based on Beckett. Characters within Naked Heat mirror the characters on the show which makes this read a lot of fun. Read my review of book one in the series, Naked Heat, here. I recommend this for all suspense lovers even if you haven’t read book one in the series or don’t watch the TV show.

Review: Naked Heat by Richard Castle

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2012/01/review-naked-heat-by-richard-castle.html