Posted on

Cheri Reviews Good Behavior by Blake Crouch


I’d seen the name Blake Crouch before but had never felt motivated to actually read his work. That was until a familiar face on the cover caught my attention: Lady Mary from Downton Abbey wearing a low-cut dress and a bit of a bad-ass attitude. I hit the “request” button on NetGalley and was soon on my way. But then I talked a couple of friends into reading it with me so I put it off until it was released and the audio book was available. I do love audio books.

Here’s the blurb from Amazon if you care to read it:

Fresh out of prison and fighting to keep afloat, Letty Dobesh returns to her old tricks burglarizing suites at a luxury hotel. While on the job, she overhears a man hiring a hit man to kill his wife. Letty may not be winning any morality awards, but even she has limits. Unable to go to the police, Letty sets out to derail the job, putting herself on a collision course with the killer that entangles the two of them in a dangerous, seductive relationship.

Good Behavior comprises three interlinked novellas (The Pain of Others, Sunset Key, and Grab), which together form a novel-length portrait of Blake Crouch’s all-time favorite character creation, Letty Dobesh. This edition is the complete Letty Dobesh collection.

There’s a lot to like about Good Behavior. Letty is a flawed, but likable, character. She’s a crystal meth addict who struggles daily to stay on the wagon. She has a son but lost custody of him the last time she went to prison. And she’s a very good thief. Letty is filled with self-doubt and low self-esteem but still manages to land on her feet – barely.

I wished I had been able to spend more time with her and hope more of her stories are published because I enjoyed all three of the novellas included in this book. Each one showed off a bit more of Letty’s quick thinking and determination and I may even have a little crush on her. At least I wanted to hug her a lot.

I did have some problems with the book, particularly the last story. Throughout the book, only non-white characters were identified by their race or color and these were the only ones who consistently spoke in some sort of culturally stereotypical way. The Black man in the final story used words like “homie” and other slang phrases that no other character used. Everyone else, regardless of education level or class, spoke in standard English. I found this unfortunate and wished someone along the editorial chain had pointed it out to the author. This is a classic example of white privilege that maintains the concept that white is normal and everything else is “other.” The third story was my favorite as far as plot and situations but I was regularly annoyed and offended by the representation of Isaiah.

Do I still recommend the book? Absolutely. I listened to the whole thing in one sitting and was a bit sad to have it end. Letty Dobesh is a great character. The author interjects after each story about how it fits – or doesn’t – with the television show on TNT. While I didn’t enjoy having him break in like that, I suppose it will help me not be ticked that the show doesn’t match the book since now I’ll know why.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer (which has become one of my favorite publishing houses) and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Good Behavior.

You can download a sample or purchase Good Behavior by clicking here.

Posted on

Cheri Reviews A Quiet Death by Cari Hunter


Cari Hunter is my go-to author for lesbian fiction’s mystery/thriller category. Each and every one of her books is engaging, fast-paced, well thought out, and well written. A Quiet Death, the third in the Dark Peak series, is no different.

Here’s the blurb from Amazon:

In book three in the Dark Peak series, things are looking up for Detective Sanne Jensen and Dr. Meg Fielding. Dating each other seems to be working, their families are behaving themselves, and the worst of the post-Christmas crime wave is over.

The discovery of a Pakistani girl’s body out on the moors changes all that. No one knows who she is, who hurt her, or how she came to be there. As pressure mounts on East Derbyshire Special Ops for a quick resolution, it becomes ever more apparent that the case won’t provide one.

With the Pakistani community closing ranks, and threads of suspicion reaching farther than anyone could have predicted, the investigation leaves Sanne facing an ordeal she may not survive.

A Quiet Death takes place pretty soon after the events in Cold to the Touch and finds Sanne and Meg happily engaged in committed coupledom. As we knew they would be, they’re perfectly suited and there’ll be no drama between them so no worries there. The ups and downs in this book are solidly focused on the case at hand. Hunter doesn’t shy away from difficult topics and A Quiet Death deals with one that, personally, is one of the toughest to read about: trafficking women for sex. I can handle lots of graphic details when reading mysteries and thrillers but rape is a bit gut-wrenching for me. Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about that. The author does a great job of letting the reader know what’s going on but there are no graphic descriptions. And I didn’t notice until very late in the book that they weren’t there. The case is the thing and I was completely wrapped up in the thoughts and actions of the detectives. The EDSOP team was a joy to witness and the addition of a POV for Sanne’s boss, Eleanor, gave me even more insight into the case as well as some of the characters. There was never a point when I wanted to get away from her POV and back to Sanne or Meg’s.

I heavily suspected that I’d enjoy this book since I’ve not yet been disappointed by anything written by the author and I was right. Hunter has not only a talent for bringing her characters to life and dropping the reader into the scene but also for balancing dark, deadly serious story lines with levity and humor so the reader doesn’t get lost in despair over the heartbreaking cases. I look forward to reading whatever she comes up with next.

You can download a sample or purchase A Quiet Death by clicking here.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Posted on

Cheri Reviews Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge (Goodreads Review)

Well that’s my Z for the A-Z Challenge AND my 80th book which takes me to the completion of my 2016 reading challenge.

Zoo was an engaging, interesting, and fun read. It wasn’t a literary masterpiece or anything like that but it held my attention and I enjoyed the read. Perfect for what I was looking for at the time. There were some good action sequences, too. The POV switched from Oz’s first person to everyone else covered in a third person omniscient. The POV of the animals was one of my favorite things about the book.

Also, damn us humans!

Posted on

CAB Reviews A Kind of Justice by Renee James

Book blurb:
“Against all odds, Bobbi Logan, a statuesque transgender woman, has become one of Chicago’s most celebrated hair stylists and the owner of one of the city’s poshest salons. She is finally comfortable with who she is, widely admired in her community, about to enjoy the success she deserves.

Then her impossibly perfect life falls apart.

In the space of a few weeks, the Great Recession drags her business to the brink of failure, her beloved ex-wife needs help in facing a terrible tragedy, and a hateful police detective storms back into her life, determined to convict her of the five-year-old murder of John Strand—pillar of the community—and a sexual predator.

As the detective builds an ever more convincing case against her, both of them will be shaken by revelations—about themselves, about their own deeply held secrets, and about the bizarre ritual murder of John Strand.”

I didn’t realize this was the second book in the series, despite it clearly stating that in the title. Although, I don’t think it’s necessary to have read the first in the series, I did find myself wondering about the details of Bobbi’s back-story. As a result, there is a strong possibility that I will go back and read “Transition to Murder.” Having said that, I was sucked into “A Kind of Justice” from the outset. Bobbi Logan could have been written as a caricature of a stereotypical transgender woman. However, the author takes the time to make sure Logan is a well-developed and interesting character, juxtaposed against Detective Wilkins who is vulgar, crude, and obviously bigoted against the LGBTQ community. As the reader, we get to see the story develop from two distinct points of view: Logan’s and Wilkins’.

On a personal note, I found it interesting that I assumed based on Wilkins attitude that he was white, when in fact he is black. This made me re-evaluate my own point of view/prejudice. I was also happy to see Wilkins’ character development throughout the storyline. The author was able to move him from being a completely bigoted arse to a somewhat sympathetic character in a manner that felt natural.

Overall, I was impressed with the flow of the story and the characters themselves. I’d give this 4 stars and I will definitely keep an eye out for new stories coming from Renee James.

I picked this book up from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

You can download a sample or purchase a copy of A Kind of Justice by clicking here.

Posted on

Cheri Reviews The 7th Canon by Robert Dugoni

When I saw a new stand-alone novel by Robert Dugoni on NetGalley.com, I couldn’t help but click “request.” I had already finished the first 3.5 (three novels and a short story) in his Tracy Crosswhite series and enjoyed most of them quite a bit. You can check out my review for the first in the series here.

The thing that I’ve discovered about Dugoni is that he can be very hit or miss with the execution of his stories. Sometimes they can be fast paced and intense and other times slow or have convoluted plots where detectives are able to deduce solutions out of what feels like nowhere. I’ve learned to be cautious with my expectations when it comes to this author. His newest release, The 7th Canon, was on the fast paced and intense side and it may be my favorite of the Dugoni books that I’ve read.

Here’s the blurb from Amazon if you care to read it:

In San Francisco’s seamy Tenderloin district, a teenage street hustler has been murdered in a shelter for boys. And the dedicated priest who runs the struggling home stands accused. But despite damning evidence that he’s a killer—and worse—Father Thomas Martin stands by his innocence. And attorney Peter Donley stands with him.

For three years Donley has cut his legal teeth in his uncle’s tiny, no-frills firm, where people come before profits. Just as Donley is poised to move on to a lucrative dream job, the shocking case lands in his lap, and he must put his future on hold while putting his courtroom skills to the test. But a ruthless DA seeking headlines and a brutal homicide cop bent on vengeance have their own agendas. Now, as he unearths the dirty secrets surrounding the case, Donley must risk his neck to save his client’s life…and expose the face of true evil.

I found myself liking Peter Donely quite a bit. He’s not the idealistic, young attorney out to save the world but a father and husband trying to figure out how to make a better life for his wife and toddler son. Once I got past the first few chapters, I struggled to put the book down because the story kept unfolding and I was completely caught up in not only the case, but learning about the lives of Donely and the private detective, Frank Ross, both of whom have dark days in their pasts that won’t let them move on.

At the end of the book, I was satisfied with the outcome of the case and where the characters ended this leg of their journey. If this ends up being a series, I would happily pick up book two. There is an audio version of this one but I’ve not heard any of it so I can’t speak to the narrator. I read this one with a combination of my eyeballs and a text-to-speech app.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

You can download a sample or purchase The 7th Canon by clicking here.

Posted on

Cheri Reviews Cold to the Touch by Cari Hunter

Cari Hunter has done it again. I think this is my favorite of her works. I may say that after I read each book but it doesn’t make the statement less true. It means she continues to push the envelope with regard to the crimes and the characters and she does a fantastic job with it.

This episode of The Dark Peak series has Sanne, Nelson, and the rest of the crew chasing down a vicious serial killer. A killer who doesn’t get much media play until a more prominent member of the community is taken out. Meg is also dealing with some serious family issues and our favorite non-couple have their own set of problems that need to be worked out. Speaking of the romantic parts of the book, I swore at and declared my strong dislike for one character in particular several times. Ok, maybe two characters but I have to say that I was pleased with the way the book ended. That’s not giving away too much, is it?

I enjoyed the case, the characters, and the relationship. I liked it all. Combine that with the author’s fantastic writing skills and the superb editing and proofreading and it’s a winner! I was surprised, though, by just how bloody and graphic it was. I know that all of Hunter’s books have some blood and guts in them but this one seemed to take it to a new level. It wasn’t anything that I’d not seen loads of times in mainstream crime novels or thrillers but I guess I wasn’t expecting it. Honestly, it made me appreciate the writing just that much more. There were no parts of any crime scene descriptions that felt intentionally over the top or gratuitous and Sanne’s reactions to them were easy for me to relate to.

That’s probably one of the best things about this series: I can relate to the main characters and feel for them on a level that sometimes takes me by surprise. I like Meg and I can feel for her and understand her as a character but Sanne… Sanne moves me emotionally. I want to hold her and comfort her and protect her. I could go on and on but I won’t. What I will do is tell you, dear reader, that if you enjoy mysteries or thrillers or crime novels, you won’t be disappointed.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley.

You can download a sample or purchase a copy of Cold to the Touch by clicking here.