Book Reviews by vicki rock

California Attorney Mickey Haller, a former criminal defense attorney, is now in public interest litigation. He filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against Tidalwaiv, an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told Aaron Colton, 16, that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty.

Rebecca Randolph, 16, was murdered. Her mother, Brenda Randolph, is suing Tidalwaiv. Twins Mitchell and Marcus Mason, Tidalwaiv’s attorneys, want Judge Margaret Ruhlin to exclude Rikki Patel, a former employee, from testifying. The AI companion is called Clair. Brenda Randolph wants a public apology from Tidalwaiv and an admission of wrongdoing.

After a pretrial court hearing, Jack McEvoy, a technology journalist on Substack, approaches Haller. He wants to help research the case so when the trial is over, he can write a book about it. Since there is a mountain of printed discovery materials to go through, Haller agrees. McEvoy’s digging comes up with names of witnesses who will change the course of the trial.

This is the eighth book in the Mickey Haller series, but Michael Connelly is the author of over 40 books. Connelly is a master at crafting an engrossing legal thriller. The core issue of whether an artificial intelligence company can be blamed for a murder is fascinating.

I rate it five out of five stars.

London, December 1921. Newly promoted Chief Inspector Ian Rutledge is called upon by Chief Superintendent Markum to go to the Kent home of Lord Edward Braxton, who is recovering from an attempt on his life.

In bed with a concussion, Braxton is convinced someone is trying to kill him. He claims he was struck by the hoof of a running horse whose rider never stopped to check on him.

Braxton and Rutledge are both veterans of World War I. Braxton was promoted to colonel under Field Marshal Haig, the commander of the British Forces on the Western Front.

As Rutledge is haunted by his actions during the war, with what we today call PTSD, he is the right choice to investigate what happened to the colonel. The supporting characters are all good, with the local police officers rising to the challenges. Although this is only a novella, it is a good addition to the series.

I rate it four out of five stars.

Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Braxton, Virginia, who is making just enough to pay his bills. He is burning out after 18 years of handling bankruptcies, driving under the influence cases and other issues. He and his wife, Paula, want a divorce, but don’t want the expense of two households.

Eleanor Barnett, 85, a widow, comes to Latch to have him write her will. She and her late husband, Harry Korsak, had no children, but he had two sons from a previous marriage. Apparently, her husband left her a small fortune, and no one knows about it.

Simon is in debts for thousands because he is a compulsive gambler. Once he hooks the richest client of his career, he works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But soon her story begins to crack.

Then Eleanor and her friend, Doris Platt, are in a car accident. When she is hospitalized,
Simon realizes that nothing is as it seems. When she dies, he is arrested for her murder. Simon knows he’s innocent. But he also knows the circumstantial evidence is against him, and he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. Simon now wants to figure out who killed Eleanor Barnett.

John Grisham is known for his courtroom dramas, but this is his first mystery. While I knew going in that Simon was going to be arrested for murder, the build up to it is very intense and the plot has unpredictable twists. The characters, even the unscrupulous ones, are excellent. The narrative unfolds under the skillful precision of an expert author. The conclusion is a little abrupt, but this is one of John Grisham’s best.

I rate it five out of five stars.

It is almost Christmas and residents of Northern Virginia are on high alert. A serial killer dubbed the Phantom Slasher has been terrorizing the region for months. He uses technology to invade his victims’ homes while they sleep.

Chief medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta is performing an autopsy on Christmas Eve when she gets a call from Pete Marino. Marino, a former homicide detective, is now head of investigations for the statewide medical examiner system. Marino and Investigator Blaise Fruge have been called to meet with TV journalist Dana Diletti, who received a tip about the slasher.

Marino is married to Scarpetta’s sister, Dorothy. Scarpetta is married to Benton Wesley, a forensic psychologist for the Secret Service. Her niece Lucy Farinelli is also part of the slasher task force. Scarpetta and Wesley are leaving on Christmas Day for a two-week trip to Europe.

But during the early hours of Christmas  morning, Scarpetta receives a call that the slasher  has struck again. She  is summoned to Mercy Island, the site of a psychiatric hospital where two people have been brutalized, one of them from  Scarpetta’s  past. Psychiatrist Dr. Georgine Duvall was murdered and Zane Willard was assaulted. Zane, a senator’s nephew, is an intern at the White House.

The plot is both terrifying and timely as multiple treads are woven together with a satisfying conclusion. Thanks to Cornwell's forensic expertise, the science is fascinating. The characters continue to evolve over time. This is the 29th in the series, but it can be read as a stand-alone novel. Patricia Cornwell’s fans will especially enjoy it.

I rate it five out of five stars.

Father Tim Cavanaugh, an Episcopal priest, and his wife, Cynthia, live in the fictional town of Mitford, North Carolina. Father Tim was 62 when they married.

In the first book, “At Home in Mitford,” Tim, then single, adopted Dooley, who was abused. Dooley is now a veterinarian and married to Lace, an artist. They have two young children: Jack, 7, and Sadie, almost 3.

As “My Beloved” opens, it is November and Tim is working on his Christmas list. Although he is retired from full time ministry, he was the supply priest for St. Mark’s in Holding. Cynthia is a writer and illustrator of children’s books.

When Tim asks Cynthia, what she wants for Christmas, she replies a love letter. He writes the letter, then gets an emergency call and rushes out of the house. When he returns, the letter is missing.

Can a letter change a life? Ask former mayor Esther Cunningham who has four adult daughters who are planning on taking over Christmas preparation for their parents. Or Hope, the owner of the town’s bookstore, who needs money for a new furnace. Or Puny Guthrie, who cleans the Cavanaugh’s house. Puny is married to Joe Guthrie, the police chief. They have two sets of twins. Joe is Esther and Ray’s grandson.

Will Father Tim get his letter back in time for Christmas?

The plot is not complicated, and it is slow-moving and comforting. Even if you haven’t followed the series of 15 books, you will still enjoy this installment. Jan Karon explains why she writes in vernacular in the afterword. She also explains why she wrote another book after saying she wouldn’t.

I rate it four out of five stars.

Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady is looking forward to the holidays with her family, and to celebrating her daughter Jenny’s graduation from the police academy.

Jenny is the third-generation law enforcement officer in the family. She has been hired by the Prima County Sheriff’s Department. Jenny’s fiancé, Nick Saunders, is in veterinary school. Joanna’s husband, Butch Dixon, is staying home from the graduation with the younger children.

Within days, the family is celebrating Thanksgiving when Joanna gets a call. A body of a murdered young boy is discovered beneath a flooded bridge. The details of the crime scene tell Joanna two things: This was not the killer’s first murder. And it’s only a matter of time before he kills again.

As Joanna digs deeper into the case, she uncovers connections between cases of mysterious deaths and missing persons, having long since gone cold, that extend far beyond the confines of her small town. Meanwhile Marliss Shackleford, a local reporter and Joanne’s longtime archenemy, is causing problems.

While the reader knows from the beginning who the murderer is, the plot is of how the crimes are committed and how the sheriff’s department solves them. This story line becomes intense as they discover more murders across the country. The characters are authentic. J.A. Janice nicely balances Sheriff Joanna Brady’s work and home life. It is the 20th in the series.

I rate it five out of five stars.

It's been several years since Detective Jimmy Perez left Shetland. He has settled into his new home in Orkney, the group of islands off the northern coast of Scotland, with his partner, Willow Reeve. They have a four-year-old son, James, and are expecting their second child. Willow is a chief inspector which makes her Jimmy’s boss.

One stormy winter night, Jimmy’s oldest friend, Archie Stout, disappears. Ever the detective, Jimmy catches a boat to the island of Westray, where Archie worked as a farmer and lived with his wife, Vaila, and two sons.

But when he arrives he finds Archie's body on an archaeological dig site and an ancient Westray story stone with precise spirals carved into it beside him, the apparent murder weapon. The artifact, taken from a nearby museum, seems to suggest a premeditated murder.

Senior officers from Glasgow are to arrive and take over the case. But meanwhile, Jimmy starts talking to people. He hears rumors that Archie may have been interested in Rosalie Greeman, a younger English woman. Although Willow is on maternity leave, she helps Jimmy investigate George’s murder before the other officers arrive. Then there are two more murders.

Ann Cleeves is very good at writing descriptions of places and setting the mood. The characters are excellent and the plot is complex. Readers will be distracted by the red herrings and totally shocked by the motive and ending. After the last Jimmy Perez novel, “Wild Fire,” was said to be the final one in the series, I was pleased to learn that it wasn’t the last.

I rate it five out of five stars..

It’s been a quiet year for the Thursday Murder Club. Joyce Meadowcroft, a former nurse, is busy with wedding preparations for her only child, Joanna, who is marrying Paul Brett. They have different ideas about the wedding as Joyce wants a large wedding, but Joanna wants a small one. Joyce’s husband, Gerry, is no longer living.

The others in the Thursday Murder Club are Elizabeth Best, a former spy, Ron Ritchie, a retired union activist, and Ibrahim Arif, a retired psychiatrist. They are all in their 80s and live in Coopers Chase, a retirement community. Elizabeth is mourning her husband, Stephen.

The friends are all invited to the wedding. When Elizabeth meets Nick Silver, the best man who asks for her help, she finds she is interested in his story. He says someone tried to kill him that morning. He and his business partner, Holly Lewis, each have a valuable code. Then Nick disappears. When Paul receives texts from someone claiming to be Nick, Paul and Joanna cut their honeymoon short to meet with the club.

In the meantime, Connie Johnson, who was in prison for seven months before a mistrial resulted in her release, is meeting with Tia Malone. They are discussing plans for a large robbery. Ibrahim has been counseling Connie.

The depth of the characters with their friendship makes this series what it is as each character’s story evolves. This is the fifth in the series, but it can be read on its own. If you like warm-hearted cozy stories, this is for you.

I rate it four out of five stars.

Seft, a talented flint miner, walks the Great Plain in the high summer heat to witness the rituals that signal the start of a new year. He is there to trade his stone at the Midsummer Rite, and to find Neen, the girl he loves.

His father, Cog, and brothers Olaf and Cam, are brutes. Seft has decided to leave his family as soon as he can figure out a way to live on his own. Neen’s mother is Ani, a widow; her younger sister is Joia; and her little brother is Han. They are herders.

People are concerned because the male farmers didn’t attend the Midsummer Rite. They are right to be concerned: farmers seize land that herders used for grazing livestock. That could lead to war.

After Seft spends the night with Neen, his father beats him. Seft runs away and gets a job with another miner. Meanwhile, Joia, Neen’s younger sister, wants to spy on the priestesses because they know the secrets of the sky. Her friends Roni and Vee go with her on the sunrise adventure. They are caught and taken before Soo, the high priestess.

Fast forward years: Seft is now living with Neen and her family. He is a cleverhand: a builder. Joia is a priestess. She dreams of a huge new monument of stone, but it would be too difficult to move the needed stone. Seft tries to figure out a solution. Meanwhile, a worsening drought causes hardships for everyone and some tribes resort to violence. Scagga, one of the elders, is violently opposed to the plans to build a monument.

Ken Follett has written phenomenal historical novels imaging how large structures were built many years ago. It makes sense that Stonehenge was constructed to serve as a calendar, a place of worship and a burial site. The characters are wonderful and the plot is compelling. It never occurred to me that early challenges included the difference in languages between the peoples. Readers will be immersed in early life and be amazed at how obstacles are overcome.

I rate it five out of five stars.

​Michael Lobb is found dead on the floor of Lobb’s Tin & Pewter. Geoffrey Henshaw, a representative of Cornwall EcoMining, and Bran Udy, one of Lobb’s employees, find his body.

That’s suspicious because EcoMining has been trying to buy Lobb’s family’s land to mine lithium. Lobb is the majority owner of the business and is the sole obstacle that is preventing a deal from being made. His brother, Sebastian, owns only 40 percent.

Kayla, Lobb’s second wife, is much younger than he was. Gloriana Lobb, Michael’s adult daughter, has a successful online video blog about feminism. She also owns a vintage shop. His son, Merritt, works with his mother, Maiden Kittow, who owns a plant shop. Kayla’s brother, Willen Steyn, has been visiting Kayla and Michael. The chapters on the homicide are interspersed with chapters about Michael, starting when he first met Kayla.

Detective Inspector Beatrice Hannaford of the Major Incident Team is sent to the homicide. Detective Inspectors Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers don’t become part of the investigation until they travel to Lynley’s ancestral home because of a building maintenance issue.

This is the 22nd novel in one of my favorite series. While I wish Lynley and Havers had been more prominently featured, the characters are outstanding. The plot is intelligent and intricate and readers won’t figure out the entire story. What’s more, if you haven’t read the others in the series, you can still jump in and be drawn in to the characters and the novel.

I rate it five out of five stars.

A wedding reception is coming to a close in the Hollywood Hills when the day is shattered by the death of one of the newlyweds. Anthony Brock is fatally stuck with a rock, but police believe he was intoxicated and fell off a cliff.

While it is first thought to be an accident, Homeland Security Investigations agent Carmen Sanchez and her partner, security expert Jake Heron, discover that the death is the third in a series of similar incidents.

Supervisory Special Agent Eric Williamson, their boss, tells them that the international serial killer has been dubbed the Honeymoon Killer. Carmen is also reviewing the file on her father’s suspected suicide.

For some reason, they can’t get in touch with the widow, Allison Brock. When Carmen is too busy to really investigate her father’s death, her sister Selina goes out on her own. And Williamson is subpoenaed to testify before a subcommittee of Congress.

The reader knows from the beginning who the killer is, but the reason behind the crimes is not disclosed at first. The subplots makes the story more complex. It is intense and fast-moving. This is the second in the series, but you don’t have to read the first one, “Fatal Intrusion,” to follow the plot.

I rate it four out of five stars.

Cork O’Connor, retired sheriff and part-time private investigator, is closing up his small burger joint, Sam’s Place, one fall evening.

His son, Stephen, a second year law student, calls. He has an internship with the Great North Innocence Project. Stephen tells his father that decades ago, as the newly elected sheriff of Tamarack County, Cork was responsible for sending an Ojibwe man named Axel Boshey to prison for murder. Stephen is certain Boshey did not commit the murder.

This is told in two timelines. In the past, Cork is at his office one morning when a call comes in about a stabbing at Timber Lodge and Resort. He and other officers rush to the scene. Chastity Boshey has been stabbed. Aphrodite McGill, her mother, is the person who called. She tells them that Axel killed Chastity.

Fast-forward to present time, Cork feels compelled to reinvestigate the crime, but that is easier said than done. Not only is it a closed case but Axel Boshey is, inexplicably, refusing to help. The deeper Cork digs, the clearer it becomes that there are those in Tamarack County who are willing once again to commit murder to keep him from finding the truth.

This is the 21st in the series. The character development is wonderful, as the reader realizes who is no longer living in the present time. This is a blend of small-town atmosphere, Ojibwe culture, and homicide. The ending comes as a surprise. The reader doesn’t have to read the others in the excellent series to follow the story of Cork O’Connor.

I rate it four out of five stars.