Happy Tuesday! My husband and I have a beef with weather TV — it all has to be so dramatic! Over the weekend one cable weather channel titled the falling temps across our area as October Gloom. LOL. The forecast for today is sunny and a high of 69 degrees. If that’s gloom, I’ll take it. 🙂 Today’s TTT topic could take a dramatic turn as well, and some of the titles I’m sharing do sound ominous. But I wanted to have books that run the spectrum of weather events, so there are a few pleasant weather days too. I hope you find a book to love.
Happy Tuesday! Today is a Freebie day for Top 10 Tuesday. I am going completely random today with fiction chosen from the shelves in my house — as opposed to those on my NetGalley shelf and Kindle. 😉 I organize my shelves in a way that makes sense to me. Fiction is organized by genre and then alphabetically by author. I keep series in order of publication. If it’s Biblical or historical fiction, I organize chronologically and by location (example: European vs American. Old Testament and then New Testament). And then there is my Austen knock-off shelf which contains a variety of genres, but all tie into one of Austen’s novels. That’s alphabetically by author. I even have a shelf for signed books. So if I am in the mood for a mystery, I know which shelf to head to.
Confusing? Probably, but it works for me. At least I don’t divide my mystery into historical or cozy, etc. I’m not that obsessive or am I?
I am.
In the spirit of transparency, the books represented today are on shelves at my primary residence. We have a house in the woods that boasts a very small library. That’s where it really gets tick-y. That’s where the mass market cozy mysteries reside. Likewise, all the Grishams. Then there’s my husband’s western fiction, the American historical fiction/non-fiction that revolve around major events. Think Revolutionary War, Pearl Harbor, etc. I have a shelf for veterinary fiction. Yes that’s a thing. Small town fiction like Jan Karon. A shelf where humorous fiction (P.G. Wodehouse) coexists with short story collections. And last but not least, the shelf with North Georgia authors. Too much? LOL!
This week’s TTT topic, bad guys you love to hate, was a no-go for me. I read a lot of suspense, and I usually cheer when the bad guys die or at least get put in jail. 😉 These books generally feature serial killers, terrorists, drug/human traffickers — basically seriously bad bad guys. I did a search of my posts with bad guys and creep-factor as the search terms. Yikes! I found a few that won’t give you nightmares, but some need a nightlight on as you read. I hope you find a book with bad guys to love.
Happy Tuesday! Today’s TTT topic is Favorite Words. Don’t panic when you read my list. I really am not a liar. 😉 But my favorite line from the movie Elf is you sit on a throne of lies. LOL. Lies, deceit, and deception are the perfect words for October reading, don’t you think? There is something about cooler weather, longer days, and changing leaves that screams read a suspense novel!
The week’s TTT was a tough one. I was determined to go by the prompt and let 1 word stand as a review for each of the titles featured. I really wanted to use some adjectives, but I settled for some hyphenated words. 🙂 One word really doesn’t do any of the books listed here justice; they are really, really good in many ways. I hope you find one that intrigues you.
For more brief reviews, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.
My book club really liked Life Flight by Lynette Eason. It surely generated more discussion that other romantic suspense novels we have read. The serial killer angle had us talking about the hows and whys. Hope that doesn’t make us weird! 😉 If you liked it too, I have a few more reading recommendations.
Coming of Winter by Tom Threadgill
Catherine Mae Blackston is missing. She is not the first.
While investigating Blackston’s recent activities, FBI Agent Jeremy Winter stumbles upon a string of missing persons within state parks. Unable to convince his boss that Blackston’s disappearance is anything other than a lost hiker, Winter joins forces with a local police officer to continue the search.
As the clues mount, a dark figure from Jeremy’s past emerges with an ultimatum — one that could force him out of the Bureau. Afraid that his girlfriend, fellow agent Maggie Keeley, will be dragged into a high-stakes political game, he delays his decision. But as the tally of missing persons increases, Winter closes in on the unlikeliest of suspects.
The bodies are out there.
He just has to find them before his past catches up with him.
Legacy of Lies by Christy Barritt
The justice system failed her family—and so did her hometown.
Madison Colson knows deep down that her father—a convicted serial killer—is innocent. But believing it and proving it are two entirely different things. Unable to help her father, Madison has spent most of her adult life overcompensating by helping others. When her aunt dies unexpectedly, duty calls her back to Fog Lake, Tennessee, a beautiful but painful place she’d rather forget.
Terrifying events begin to unfold once she arrives, unleashing her worst nightmares. The Good Samaritan Killer—or a copycat—is back, and now Madison Colson is his target.
FBI Special Agent Shane Townsend is determined to stop the deadly rampage that has sent the tightknit community into a frenzy. But he needs to earn Madison’s trust first. The task feels impossible, especially considering his father is the one who put her dad in prison.
With the whole town on edge and pointing fingers, tension escalates out of control. Madison and Shane must sort the facts from the lies—and fight for a legacy of truth—before The Good Samaritan Killer has the final say.
Night Fall by Nancy Mehl
Now that Alexandra “Alex” Donovan is finally free of her troubled upbringing, she’s able to live out her childhood dream of working for the FBI. But soon after she becomes a member of the FBI’s elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, authorities in Kansas and Missouri contact them about bodies found on freight trains traveling across the country–all killed in the same way.
Alex never expected to be forced to confront her past in this new job, but she immediately recognizes the graffiti messages the killer is leaving on the train cars. When the BAU sends her to gather information about the messages from her aunt in Wichita, Kansas, Alex is haunted by the struggles she thought she’d left behind forever.
In a race against time to solve the case while battling her own weaknesses, Alex must face how far she’ll go–and what she’s willing to risk–to put a stop to the Train Killer.
Happy Tuesday! It is beautiful here in the sunny South, but of course that is all set to change. No snow or plunging temps in the forecast, but there is a slight chance of tornadoes in my location. We are keeping a weather eye! Regardless of the weather, I always have great books surrounding me. This week I am sharing books with adjectives in the title. I chose suspense novels — the adjectives can be intense!
The justice system failed her family—and so did her hometown.
Madison Colson knows deep down that her father—a convicted serial killer—is innocent. But believing it and proving it are two entirely different things. Unable to help her father, Madison has spent most of her adult life overcompensating by helping others. When her aunt dies unexpectedly, duty calls her back to Fog Lake, Tennessee, a beautiful but painful place she’d rather forget.
Terrifying events begin to unfold once she arrives, unleashing her worst nightmares. The Good Samaritan Killer—or a copycat—is back, and now Madison Colson is his target.
FBI Special Agent Shane Townsend is determined to stop the deadly rampage that has sent the tightknit community into a frenzy. But he needs to earn Madison’s trust first. The task feels impossible, especially considering his father is the one who put her dad in prison.
With the whole town on edge and pointing fingers, tension escalates out of control. Madison and Shane must sort the facts from the lies—and fight for a legacy of truth—before The Good Samaritan Killer has the final say.
Christy Barritt always delivers great mystery/suspense. In Legacy of Lies, book 5 in her Fog Lake Suspense series, the book begins with some serious creep factor and keeps up the action-packed pace throughout. I loved it! Set in a small touristy town in the Smoky Mountains, this novel has a great sense of place. It also has major and minor characters to love. Coming from opposite sides of the crime, Madison (the daughter of a convicted serial killer) and Shane (an FBI agent) join forces to find the truth no matter where it takes them. There’s a lot to overcome for these characters, but the chemistry between the two is definitely a strong factor in their relationship. The crime itself takes the characters and the reader on a twisting journey. It really kept me guessing. While the book comes in around 400 pages, it was a page-turner, making it a quick read for me. I was a bit wary of starting the series at book 5, but Legacy of Lies reads like a standalone. I just have lots more books to add to my TBR! This book captured me from the beginning, and I want to return to Fog Lake as soon as possible. Overall, this novel is a recommended read!
Recommended.
Audience: adults.
(I purchased this book from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
About The Author
USA Today has called Christy Barritt‘s books “scary, funny, passionate, and quirky.”
A USA Today and Publishers Weekly best-seller, Christy writes both mystery and romantic suspense novels that are clean with underlying messages of faith. Her books have sold more than three million copies, one has been made into a TV movie, and another is being developed for a TV series.
Christy’s books have won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Suspense and Mystery, have been twice nominated for the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, and have finaled for both a Carol Award and Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year.
She’s married to her prince charming, a man who thinks she’s hilarious–but only when she’s not trying to be. Christy’s a self-proclaimed klutz, an avid music lover who’s known for spontaneously bursting into song, and a road trip aficionado.
Christy currently splits her time between the Virginia suburbs and Hatteras Island, North Carolina. She loves spending time with her husband, her two sons, and her four dogs.
I wrote Legacy of Lies after watching an interview on TV of a woman whose father killed several people. I tried to put myself in her shoes. How did she cope under the weight of what her father had done? How did people treat her differently? How did her father’s decisions affect her future? From there, I had the idea to highlight a group of three siblings who were dealing with this. I’d already done another four-book series in the mountain town of Fog Lake, Tennessee, and I really loved setting those books there. I decided to revisit the area and make it the place where these three siblings had grown up—and where they had to return.
Happy Friday! This weekend I am attending my nephew’s wedding. Along with getting together with family, I will have some time to read because, road trip. 😉 I am taking along the unputdownableLegacy of Lies by Christy Barritt. It really is a page turner that grabbed me from the beginning. Alas, life causes me to do other things besides reading. But with a few hours on the road, I hope to knock this mystery/thriller out. And just a hint, the first line is not about food. Yikes!
Now the first line:
Insatiable hunger growled inside me, and all I could think about was eating.
The justice system failed her family—and so did her hometown.
Madison Colson knows deep down that her father—a convicted serial killer—is innocent. But believing it and proving it are two entirely different things. Unable to help her father, Madison has spent most of her adult life overcompensating by helping others. When her aunt dies unexpectantly, duty calls her back to Fog Lake, Tennessee, a beautiful but painful place she’d rather forget.
Terrifying events begin to unfold once she arrives, unleashing her worst nightmares. The Good Samaritan Killer—or a copycat—is back, and now Madison Colson is his target.
FBI Special Agent Shane Townsend is determined to stop the deadly rampage that has sent the tightknit community into a frenzy. But he needs to earn Madison’s trust first. The task feels impossible, especially considering his father is the one who put her dad in prison.
With the whole town on edge and pointing fingers, tension escalates out of control. Madison and Shane must sort the facts from the lies—and fight for a legacy of truth—before The Good Samaritan Killer has the final say
No, I cannot forget from where it is that I come from I cannot forget the people who love me Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town And people let me be just what I want to be — John Mellencamp
I wasn’t raised in a small town, although the Orlando area wasn’t huge before Disney. I would never say I had a small town upbringing, but I have lived in small towns all my married life. I love a small town, and I think it was the best environment for my children growing up. Is that why I love stories set in small towns? Maybe.
This week TTT is featuring favorite literary tropes. One of my favorites is a character that returns to their roots and discovers truths about their lives. Although the small town mystery/suspense novels I have on the list may make them regret their decision, at least for a while. 😉 I’ve included recent novels I have read — historical romance, women’s fiction, mystery/suspense, contemporary romance — something for everyone. I hope you find a small town to love too.
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