No One Left To Tell - Karen Rose

Paige is training to be a PI. Not long after her training begins she is asked by a woman to look into the imprisonment of her son. Along with her daughter in law, she believes that he was set up to take the blame for the murder of a young girl five years before. Paige has her doubts but agrees to take the case. When the son's wife is murdered trying to bring back information Paige loses her doubts and decides to do her best to clear his name. This puts her in danger as someone doesn't want anyone revealing the real murderer or the sordid reasons behind it.

First of all I had intended on more mini reviews but I have one or two books in that list that I need to review independently because they are part of a challenge or because they deserve their own reviews. So I will have to catch up without cheating.

This is one of the latest (if not the latest) book by Karen Rose. I had started to read them in order but this was one of those books I picked up on a whim. To be honest it's not the best of her books but it was perfect for what I needed at the time.

I was able to guess early on who was behind the real murder and some of the reasons behind it. Although I didn't guess the full extent of the crime. Guessing that early on didn't matter though. It's how Paige and Grayson got there that mattered. As they uncovered the mystery they also broke down their barriers and fell in love. Atypical of Rose's formula for her books with an obvious set up for a future book on another tortured couple.

Again that didn't bother me because, as I said, it was what I needed at the time. I needed something light (take out some of the violent content and you get light). I needed something that I didn't need to think about. Most importantly I needed something with characters I could engage in that would allow me to escape from exams and starting a new placement. That is exactly what I got and as a result I enjoyed it. I looked forward to heading home and picking this up.

If you like a wee bit of crime with a bit of romance  thrown in then this is ideal. If you haven't read Karen Rose before though start with her earlier books. I'll be going back to where I left off with those next time.

December Mini Reviews!

Yep, I am going to be lazy and do some mini reviews for Decembers books. If I don't they won't get posted at all. I had said that December was going to be my classic month. Well that didn't happen. When busy I need light reads. I knew this and yet I was still determined to have a classic month. Lesson learned. I managed one classic and it took me over three weeks to read (with a few light ones in between).

 Set during WWI and then during the Russian Revolution. The families of both Doctor Zhivago and Lara face hard times much like everyone else in Russia. Their paths cross several times and despite being married they fall in love. I quite enjoyed this book. I think that it just wasn't the right time for me to be reading it. For that reason it dragged quite a bit. If I had more time to devote to it I think this would have been a firm favourite and I would have devoured it. Found the historical side of the book to be just as interesting as the main story itself. Russian history is a subject I have long wanted to learn more about although this was set in the one era I know something about.

 Caroline Stewart has finally found safety for herself and her son. She is working towards a law degree and the horrors of her abusive husband are far behind her. She then meets new boss Max and decides to learn to trust again. Unfortunately her past may be coming back to haunt her as husband is on the hunt for his presumed dead wife and son. This is the first book by Karen Rose. Was interesting as a lot of the characters featured in the last book I had reviewed not that long ago. Different from the others so far as we know who is behind the murders. Just what I needed when I had so much on I had no time to think.

 Steven Thatcher is investing the abduction and murders of young teenage girls. At home he is raising three boys on his own. His oldest is acting out and his youngest is still recovering from a previous trauma. Then teacher Jenna Marshall walks into his life concerned about his eldest. She bares a remarkable resemblance to the dead girls. Not only is he falling for her but he may have to protect her too. This is the second book by the author. Like the others there is some character cross over. Thatcher has a small part to play in the first book and it's in that one his youngest son is kidnapped. Back to the 'who done it' style which, if I am honest, I prefer. Aspects of it seemed similar to one of her other books though.

 Mrs Fry is the long suffering wife of Stephen Fry. Unaware of her husbands other life she believes him to be a lay about window cleaner who has a thing for the woman next door. Meanwhile she brings up their six or seven children. Like a lot of people I came across Mrs Fry on twitter. It wasn't long after that this book came out. I have always loved Stephen Fry and the tweets of the supposed Mrs Fry amused me. Was a little disappointed with this though. It wasn't as funny as I was expecting it to be. The tweets are definitely funnier. A pleasant distraction though.

Temperance Brennan is preparing for a long awaited beach holiday when she comes across some human remains thanks to her dog. Somehow these remains and those of a small baby are linked to a plane crash. Brennan's investigating gets her in trouble but she is determined to find out who is behind those deaths. I am pretty sure I have read this one out of order. There were some things mentioned that I know I haven't read before. That didn't much matter though as I could still follow what was going on. Another good read from Kathy Reichs although I think I preferred the first few in the series.

I Can See You - Karen Rose

Eve has been damaged in the past and is determined to put that hurt to good. As a psychology student she is doing a study into online gaming and trying to find a way that would give victims a way to feel safe in the real world. Somehow she has gotten hold of her participant list and this could not only get her expelled but black listed too. One of the participants though has committed suicide and she wonders if it has anything to do with her high volume of hours spent in the virtual world. She tried to tell her mentor who ignores it. When another woman dies in the same way and is believed to now have been murdered Eve has now choice but to go to the police. Detective Noah Webster is the first of the Hats to realise theses suicides are the work of one sick individual. Noah is in love with Eve and this murder has brought him together. As the killer works his way through Eve's list it's clear that Eve is also a target. Noah is determined that he won't lose someone else he cares about and races to catch the killer.

This is probably the easiest read I have had in a long time and was exactly what I needed. Not a lot of thinking had to go into it at all. About five years ago I would have turned my nose up at the type of book too. Glad I got over it. The crime side of the story was fairly interesting. A serial killer (it's always a serial killer isn't it?) wants to be finally noticed and get his revenge on the group of detectives known as the Hats. There is a growing trend in crime books for the criminals to use technology. Jeffery Deaver has used it a few times and now Karen Rose. It always makes for an interesting premise I think. In this case the killer is stocking his victims on and online game. A game that's supposed to be anonymous which makes finding the killer difficult. It wasn't hard though to work out who it was as the killer had to have some kind of inside knowledge (I'm honestly not giving anything away with that one).

I did have a chuckle at the hat squad. I couldn't help it. The idea that detectives receive and wear a hat after solving their first case just seemed very old fashioned. Do people wear these hats other than in the old black and white movies. I had to take back that laugh though when I read that this team of detectives is actually based on a real life team who do that. I probably shouldn't make fun of something that is probably a good team building exercise and brings the team closer together.

I also couldn't let this book go without commenting on the romance. As you know I am not a romance fan. I don't go out of my way to read it. This author is described as a romance-suspense writer so I shouldn't really be surprised when there is quite a bit of it in the book. I wasn't ignorant of it either when I picked it up. The friends who convinced me to read this book did warn me. I have to say it didn't actually bother me too much. I still preferred the crime side of the book but I could live with it. That doesn't mean that I have changed my mind about romance books in general.

Not my favourite book in the world but it was mildly entertaining and what I needed at the time. Perfect for anyone who wants a light crime book and a touch of romance. These books are all connected in some way so I will probably go back to the beginning and read the others.