Bloody Mary is the second book in the Jackie Daniels Mysteries by J.A. Konrath. I read this book on my Kindle for free because it was part of the leanding library on Amazon for Prime Members.
Synopsis: Jackie's life as a Chicago Detective is once again in trouble as she is the target of a murdered and her personal life is a wreck.
Review: This book isn't the best detective book out there but it was a nice easy read to get some reading in. I finished the first book in the series not sure I would read any other books from this series unless I was desperate to get some reading in that was quick.
Overall, this book is not bad. It's an interesting story that half way through you know it's not over, but you have no way of figuring out how it's going to keep going. I felt like the story was believable and most of it was not predictable like a lot of mystery books seem to be lately. The drama that was added is was not forces and it was interesting.
Finally another book finished. Even though school has started I have found a little time for reading. I started this book months ago and just lost interest in it. Once I did pick it back up I was ready to finish it.
Synopsis: Dr. Brennan gets caught up in a mystery with several bodies are misidentified years later and she has to clear it up, even with little help from the surviving families.
Not only does Dr. Brennan have to deal with this case, but a case of shark attacks and Detective Ryan, his daughter and Brennan's daughter all in the vacation home they're staying at in Hawaii.
Review: Even though I lost interest in the book after a while I did enjoy it. I think I was just not in the mood for a mystery novel at the time and needed something else. So it wasn't because the book wasn't good that I put it down.
I found the story about the way the US Government identified the soldiers from wars like Vietnam very interesting and I had no idea how it was done. There was some history thrown into this story, which I like since I am a history geek.
I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads. It was a nice read and as I expected the Ryan/Temperance relationship is still not going anywhere, but I assume in either the next few books we'll figure out what's going to happen between them.
As I write this I am one book away from reading 50 books this year. I added four books I read for school, but they were not your usual textbook so that is why I counted them. I am reading number 50 right now, but I am not sure I can finish it by midnight tonight.
Synopsis: Jane Rizzoli is the only female detective in the homicide unit. On her new case, she is faced with something that will forever change her life. Is she ready to face this new change? Maura Isles ex husband comes into the picture, but is there an alternative motive for his visit after three years of no contact.
Review: I am still on the fence on whether I like this series or not. It's not the best series I've ever read in the mysteries genre, but not the worse. This book hasn't given me ant help in figuring that out.
I did enjoy the book hence the 5 stars on GoodReads. It was a great story that had twists and turns that kept you engaged. Like any other mystery book that I enjoy I never saw the ending coming. I hate guessing who the killer is half way through the book. I was always surprised and happy to see where this book was going.
Add another log to the fire I have finished another book. With mystery/crime books I never know how quickly I will get through them. Sometimes I get so into the book I read it as fast as I can, others I read for a few hours a day and it takes me a week or more to finish. This one only took me a few days.
This will be my first review on the blog of the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs. So I will give you a little synopsis of the series so you understand what's going on. This may contain spoilers if you have not read the series. Temperance Brennan is a 40 something forensic anthropologist. She teaches as a North Caroline University and works for the ME's office in Charlotte. She also works in Montreal for their ME's office as well. She is divorced, recovering alcoholic and always getting into trouble. She has an on again off again relationship with detective in Montreal name Andrew Ryan. I think that sums the series up.
Synopsis: This book is the 11th book in the series. The previous books mostly take place in Montreal, with a few exceptions. This is one of them. This book takes place in Charlotte, where Dr. Brennan spends half her time. Dr. Brennan is called to a house, where there is a skeleton found is a sub-basement. Further inspection shows that's not only is there bones, but two cauldrons and signs of some kind of ritual had taken place here.
As the story gone on there is a politician who is preaching about satan worshiping and how police cannot do their job and so on. Typical bible thumping speeches that gets Temperance in trouble. Then there's another body that is found without it's head that gives Temperance trouble in figuring out what happened to him.
There seems to be multiple stories in this book, but only one seems to flow. Also, her love interest comes to pay respects to a fallen officer, but had no real significance to the story.
Review: This book was alright. Not the best of the series. I had read a few reviews before reading this one, where people complained about how much description she did about who she was and the city of Charlotte and it's history. She does this in all the books, but I don't know if because the read some reviews that I noticed how long winded they were or if they they really were a bit over done. I like when she does this to a point. Once you got past that the book was good.
There was two cases that they kept trying to tie together, that ended up having nothing to do with each other. The first one took a backstory and really just ended. They did explain it all, but it was just done rushed I think.
I also wasn't sure what Ryan was suppose to be doing in this book. He shows up magically towards the last fourth of the book and nothing is resolved between him and Temperance. He does save her life and another detective's life, but other than that he seems kind of thrown in here. I was wondering in this book how Reichs was going to continue the break-up/romance between these two, but it was done poorly. I get that she wasn't sure how she felt, but they didn't even discussion what happened and how it made them feel. Nothing was done about it.
I gave this book 3 stars on goodreads. I think I have given the other books 4 or 5 stars, but with the lack of a strong case that was compelling, the long winded descriptions of Charlotte, her job and the history of the town, plus the lack of a need for Ryan, it wasn't her best work. Even with those bad points I still want to read the next book to see if Ryan and Temperance figure their relationship out, or if that keeps getting thrown back to get people to keep buying the books.
