5 Mysteries to Read During the Dreary Winter Days

by Susan Roberts

I love to read a good mystery book especially in the winter time when I can't get outside as much - it keeps me entertained and it helps keep me from complaining too much about the weather!  Here are several good mystery books that I have read recently.

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Right Behind You (Quincy & Rainie #7) by Lisa Gardner  

After a nine-year hiatus, Lisa Gardner has brought back Quincy and Rainie and the FBI profiler series and it was worth waiting for. She has brought them up to date but all of the things that I loved about this series were back and even better than before! This was a real page-turner with lots of twists and turns. Every time that I thought I had something figured out, the author would throw in a twist that I never saw coming and make me realize that I hadn't solved anything yet.

Quincy and Rainie are retired but still working on special projects for the police. They are also in the process of adopting their foster daughter - 13-year-old Sharlah who had lived a horrific childhood. When Sharlah was 4, her older brother Telly beat their parents to death with a baseball bat and broken Sharlah's shoulder during the attack. As a child who has suffered abuse the couple is working very hard to make her part of their family and be not afraid of her past or her future. They have made a lot of progress when Quincy gets a call from the local sheriff to help with a homicide - four people are dead and the police are searching for a young man, who turns out to be Sharlah's brother Telly. Even through Sharlah hasn't talked to her brother in over 9 years, she is still afraid for him and tries to help him in her own way. That's all I can say about the plot without giving anything away but I will tell you that you will read this book very fast to find out how it ends.

I loved this book and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it. It's wonderful to have these two characters back - along with their wonderful soon-to-be daughter - and in the capable storytelling hands of such a fantastic author!

(Note:  This book can be read as a stand-alone but once you read it, you'll want to go back and read the first 6 books in the series.)

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The 4th Man (Quincy & Rainie #6.5) by Lisa Gardner 

Lisa Gardner has brought back Pierce and Rainie in this novella to get her readers excited to read her new novel about them - Right Behind You due to publish on January 31. Since it's been almost 8 years since her last book in the FBI Profiler series, this teaser sure worked for me and I am anxious to read the new novel.

In this story, Pierce and Rainie are called in to help DD Warren solve a 10-year-old cold case. She and her team have done all of the legwork and now have 4 people in interrogation rooms waiting to be interviewed by the couple. A young college girl had been murdered in the college library and there were three likely suspects that had been questioned after the murder and one '4th man' who had shown up as a possible suspect during the cold case investigation. The meticulously question each suspect and get new information on each but are still unsure about who the murderer is -- until the question the 4th person.

This is a fantastic short story and if you are a fan of this series, it will definitely whet your appetite to read the new book. If you haven't read the series -- now is the time to catch up - you won't be disappointed!

Buy The 4th Man on Amazon

Home (Myron Bolitar #11) by Harlan Coben

I listened to this book on a long drive. The book is so good that I don't remember parts of my drive because I was so engrossed with Myron and Win and their search for two lost boys. I am a real fan of this author and enjoy his Myron Bolitar series more than his stand alones (even though many of them have been very good too).

As the book begins, Win is in London looking for his cousin's son and a friend who were kidnapped 10 years earlier when they were 6. Even though it had been a cold case, Win got a tip that led him to a seedy area of London to try to find the teenagers. Win and Myron find Patrick but are unable to find out what happened to Rhys, Win's cousin. They decide to go back to the beginning and study the case to see if they can find out what actually happened to the boys after they were kidnapped. The mystery is full of twists and turns and has an ending that I never saw coming.

This is an excellent book by one of the best authors in this genre. I highly recommend it.

Buy Home on Amazon

The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney

The Girl Before is an exciting, psychological thriller that keeps you turning pages until the end. Two women, at different times, are looking for an apartment and One Folgate Street looks like a dream come true..except for the pages and pages of requirements that they have to agree to. They both decide that they MUST live there and this is the story of what went on in the house.

What I liked about this book:
- The plot was full of twists and turns and kept you eagerly reading to see what was going to happen next.
- The story is told in alternating chapters by the two women. Emma is the past resident of the house and Jane is the current resident. It was a great way to present the story.
- The ending was a real surprise but it was plausible - I realized that I had missed some clues along the way.

What I didn't like:
- There was too much unneeded sex.
- I am so tired of book titles with the word GIRLS in them when the characters are actually WOMEN.

Overall, I thought it was a great read and I definitely enjoyed it.

Buy The Girl Before on Amazon

The Trespasser (Dublin Murder Squad #6) by Tana French

This is book 6 in the Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French. If I have any typos in this review, blame it on my lack of sleep last night. I was up most of the night reading this book -- yes - it's that good - or should I say FANTASTIC.

Each book in this series highlights a member of the Dublin Murder Squad and this time it's Antoinette Conway - a new person in the squad with a major chip on her shoulder. Her partner is Stephan Moran, also new but pretty much spends a lot of time trying to make people like him, unlike Antoinette who is perpetually harassed by the MALE members of the squad. The team usually gets the easy cases since they haven't really proven themselves yet. One morning they get what looks like an open and shut case to look into the murder of a young woman. At first glance, the boyfriend is guilty and an older member of the Murder Squad who is working with them, wants the case closed. The team of Conway and Moran aren't totally convinced and dig deeper into the case and at every turn, it looks like it isn't a simple case at all.

I love Tana French books and this one was no exception. Her characters are wonderful - I think Antoinette is one of my favorites of all of her books - and the situations that they get into are very believable. Her books follow the procedures that the police have to go through to solve a case yet she has twists and turns happening throughout. I must admit that i only have one problem with Tana French's books -- the continual desire to turn to the last page and find out how it ends. I barely avoided doing it this time and am always proud of myself if I can fight the urge.

(Note this book can be read as a stand-alone)

Buy The Trespasser on  Amazon

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling.  She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their grandson.  Susan reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook.

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