Category Archives: Mystery/Thriller

The Lincoln Conspiracy

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The Lincoln ConspiracyThe Lincoln Conspiracy by Timothy L. O'Brien
Published by Ballantine Books
on September 18, 2012
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 368
Format: eBook

From award-winning journalist Timothy L. O’Brien comes a gripping historical thriller that poses a provocative question: What if the plot to assassinate President Lincoln was wider and more sinister than we ever imagined?

In late spring of 1865, as America mourns the death of its leader, Washington, D.C., police detective Temple McFadden makes a startling discovery. Strapped to the body of a dead man at the B & O Railroad station are two diaries, two documents that together reveal the true depth of the Lincoln conspiracy. Securing the diaries will put Temple’s life in jeopardy—and will endanger the fragile peace of a nation still torn by war.

Temple’s quest to bring the conspirators to justice takes him on a perilous journey through the gas-lit streets of the Civil War–era capital, into bawdy houses and back alleys where ruthless enemies await him in every shadowed corner. Aided by an underground network of friends—and by his wife, Fiona, a nurse who possesses a formidable arsenal of medicinal potions—Temple must stay one step ahead of Lafayette Baker, head of the Union Army’s spy service. Along the way, he’ll run from or rely on Edwin Stanton, Lincoln’s fearsome secretary of war; the legendary Scottish spymaster Allan Pinkerton; abolitionist Sojourner Truth; the photographer Alexander Gardner; and many others.

Bristling with twists and building to a climax that will leave readers gasping, The Lincoln Conspiracy offers a riveting new account of what truly motivated the assassination of one of America’s most beloved presidents—and who participated in the plot to derail the train of liberty that Lincoln set in motion.

My thoughts…

I wanted to like this book and did read it to the very end with some reservations along the way. I found that the characters were very hard to differentiate between, especially in the beginning. As the book progressed the characters were whittled down to the few manageable complex characters, this made it much easier to follow. Toward the end it finally felt like a mystery was forming and I looked forward to reaching the end of the book, but that turned out to be disappointing for me, maybe I expected too much. This would have been a great book if only the author had spent more time developing this mystery through history a little bit better based on the information gleaned from the two diaries Temple came to possess.

The Lincoln Conspiracy: A Novel

 

 

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Only the Strongest Survive

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by Ian Fox

Product Description:  The novel opens with a hair-tingling scene, as two men kidnap Emely Donnovan, one of the wealthiest women in America, and bury her alive.  What is behind this horrific crime?
Raised in a strict religious institution, Emely never knew her parents.  Fearing a life of poverty, she starts up a small business that deals mainly with buying and selling stocks.  Thanks to her extreme dedication and knowledge, the company grows over time into a major conglomerate. In her desire for ever greater financial security, this beautiful, ambitious CEO has accumulated a number of enemies.

But now she finds herself locked in the basement of a remote house in the middle of a forest, watched over by one of her captors who makes her buy and sell stocks for him so he can get rich. Her challenge to survive becomes even more complicated when Emely’s captor falls in love with her.

My Take:

Only the Strongest Survive was a very different type of mystery/thriller.  Most mystery/thriller books/novels spend most of the time on the introduction of how it happened, the back story of the individual(s), possible suspects, and so on.  Only the Strongest Survive dives right into the kidnapping of Emely Donnovan and very little time is spent on the back story, or even trying to actually find Emely for that matter.  In some instances I felt things were a little off because no one was looking for Emely, but as I kept reading it didn’t matter.  The whole of the book [to me] was what happened between Emely and her captors after she was kidnapped, and most of the characters in the book were well developed and memorable; others, not so much.

I received this book free from the author and was asked to give my honest opinion.  I did enjoy reading Only the Strongest Survive and would read other books by Ian Fox.

 

 

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Damage Control

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by Timothy Gilbert

Product Description:

When a Mexican drug lord sets his sights on celebrity money manager, Peter Hansen, a quiet terror is unleashed across suburban New Jersey. As Peter’s investment business morphs into a money laundering center for drug lord Julio Viola, friends, family and clients get caught in the wake.

Dr. Nick Johnson, Peter’s good friend, is appointed to serve on a high profile heart drug study, and is flattered and eager to further his stagnant career. But Nick’s excitement turns to terror when Julio discovers the valuable inside information Nick has about the pharmaceutical trial and unwittingly makes it known to Nick that the cartel has no plans to let him live in the end. Peter helps his friend Nick plan to fake his death so as to escape from the cartel, while Peter is soon forced to worry about his own family once Julio’s paranoia leads to several murders of Peter’s employees and clients.

Will Julio deliver on his death warrant for Nick? Will a celebrity client take vengeance on Peter for his lies? Once the money laundering outfit begins to unravel, Peter must act swiftly and harshly. The struggle Nick and Peter have in escaping from the deadly grasp of the cartel drives the energy of the novel.

My take:

The actual plot line could have made Damage Control a best seller if it didn’t lack organization of the plot and subplots, as well as better characterization of the players in the book.  I found it hard to follow and hard to know when one plot ended, when another subplot began, and when it returned to the main plot.  The author has a sequel to Damage Control called “Overload” that I have not had the opportunity to read, but was wondering if the author were to combine the two, would it make more sense?  Maybe I’ll have to get it.

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Web of Evil

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by J. A. Jance

Product Description:

The New York Times bestselling author of Edge of Evil is back with another masterful thriller featuring Ali Reynolds, an ex-television journalist who finds herself in a twisted web of mystery and murder.

Fired from her dream job as a Los Angeles new anchor and still recovering from the truth about her cheating husband, Ali is content to lick her wounds far away in Sedona, Arizona.  But before she can leave the past behind, she must return to L.A.: her ex, Paul, is in a hurry for a divorce so he can marry his very young, very pregnant fiancee.  But the day before the final proceedings, Paul’s bound and broken body is found in the Palm Springs desert.  Ali finds herself the sole heir to his wealthy estate – and the prime suspect in his brutal murder.  As the evidence piles up against her, she must navigate a torturous path strewn with danger – and bodies – to expose the real cold-blooded thriller.

Web of Evil is the first book I’ve read by J. A. Jance and I intend to read more by this author.  Web of Evil was a very thrilling, suspenseful read.  I’ve noticed other reviews that classify the book as “Hokey” but I thoroughly enjoyed reading of Ali’s adventures.

 

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