One of my favourite authors has started writing a new series. In this novel the first of the series he introduces Detective Stillwell: a cop relentlessly following his mission in the seemingly idyllic setting of Catalina Island. Originally Detective Stilwell worked in Los Angeles County but was “exiled” to a low-key post after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the main-land. But while following up on the usual drunk and disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, he gets a report of a body found weighed down at the bottom of the harbour – a Jane Doe identifiable at first only by a streak of purple dye in her hair. At the same time, a report of poaching on a protected reserve turns into a case fraught with violence and danger as Stilwell digs into the shady past of an island bigwig. A good read. – Claire Cline
This is the third book in the Moonfall series The Starless Crown and The Cradle of Ice. This is a tale of relentless adventure and the struggle for survival in a harsh world that hangs by a thread. With the apocalyptic threat of moonfall looming ever closer, Nyx and her allies must venture into the eternally sun blasted lands to search for an ancient weapon buried untold millennia ago. All the while, enemies close upon her flanks, and a greater danger lurks ahead. For beneath a desert turned to glass, hidden from the scorching heat, life thrives – both wondrous and monstrous. But a more fearsome menace lies even deeper, where an ancient army has been seeded to protect a secret from any who dare seek it out. – Claire Cline
In the glow of their children’s exciting first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families gather over dinner and cocktails for the opening festivities of Parents Weekend. As the parents stay out way past their bedtimes, their kids – five residents of Campisi Hall – never show up to dinner. At first, everyone things they’re just being college students, irresponsibly forgetting about the gathering or skipping out to go to a party. But as the hours tick by and another night falls with not so much as a text from the students, panic
ensures. – Claire Cline
Following a trail of evidence along the west coast, the Women’s Murder Club pledges to avenge the murder of Sergeant Lindsay Boxer’s friend and former partner Warren Jacobi. A top investigator until the end, Jacobi managed to leave Lindsay a clue. A good read. – Claire Cline
A supernatural chiller in which a woman and her young son move to a small town looking for a fresh start, only to be haunted by disturbing events and strange visions when they find a mysterious train set in a storage shed. Annie has had an unimaginably terrible year, First her husband was killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident, then one of the children’s books she built her writing and illustrating career on ignited a major scandal. But Annie’s year is about to get worse. – Claire Cline
When I first chose this book I wasn’t too keen to read it. I do not normally read 1st person reads, or what I call them “I” books. But am I glad I did! I couldn’t put this book down. James shared an almost supernatural connection with her twin brother, Johnny that when beyond intuition – she could feel what he was feeling. So, when Johnny is killed in a tragic accident, James knows before her phone even rings that her brother is gone and that she’s alone for the first time in her life. When James arrives in the secluded town of Six River, California, to settle her brother’s affairs, she’s forced to revisit the ominous events of their shared past and finally face Micah, the only other person who knows their secrets and the only man she has ever loved. But as James delves deeper into Johnny’s world, realizes that their unique connection hasn’t completely vanished. The more she immerses herself in his life the more questions she has about the brother she thought she knew. The deeper she digs, the more she is compelled to unravel the truth behind the days leading up to Johnny’s death. James must decide which truths should come to light, and which are better left buried forever. A very good read. – Claire Cline
I started this series several months ago (65 books in this series so far!) and I just keep reading the reading them. Stone is a lawyer for a well known firm and he takes the cases that seems to get him in more hot water and has more adventures than anyone. From luxury New York high-rises to the sprawling New Mexico desert and on to clients from all corners of the world, Stone quickly learns that easy money isn’t always so easy. A good read. – Claire Cline