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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.

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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.

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Oh so very, very good

Review:

No Good Reason - Cari Hunter

This book has been on my TBR list since before it was published. Full disclosure – I’m a friend of the author. I’ve known her for several years and love her sharp wit and dry, dark humor. I also love her writing voice and style and I knew that I’d enjoy this book. So why did I wait so long to read it? Easy: I have very little time to read anything with my eyeballs and I didn’t want to use a text-to-speech reader for this book. Sanne and Meg sound like Cari and when I’m reading with my eyes, I hear their voices. Normally, I’m fine with text-to-speech for British English books, I even have a special voice downloaded for them but it just didn’t cut it with this one. I needed to let my imagination give them voices. So it took me a very, very long time to finish the book.

It was well worth the wait and I’ve already gotten the second in the series opened up and ready to go.

But before I go to it, I just want to share a few words about why I find Hunter’s writing – and No Good Reason in particular – so engaging and good. I’ve seen other folks mention how real her characters are, and I agree completely. It’s so important to be able to connect with the characters in a book you’re reading. You have to care about them and believe that they’re real to truly become engrossed in the story. But that’s not it for me. I absolutely love the way Cari writes a scene. She brings it completely to life: the smells, the sounds, the colors, everything. But not in a way that the reader feels bogged down in it. Just enough to drop us there, next to Sanne or Meg and force us to experience what they’re living. Not many authors whom I’ve read over the past many years can do this as well as Cari Hunter.

Yeah, she’s my friend but a friend who wouldn’t want me to say anything flattering just to help her sell a book or to make her feel better. She’s got an insane amount of integrity – particularly when it comes to her writing. So if I didn’t believe what I’m writing here, I wouldn’t bother taking my time to do it.

But don’t take my word for it. If you like gritty, dark crime stories with very human characters, download a sample. You’ll know right away if it’s going to be for you.

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berky.booklikes.com/post/1364846/oh-so-very-very-good