Witness in Death by JD Robb

This is the 10th book in the Eve Dallas series. The key murder in this book happens in a theater on stage. What's interesting is that since this series is set in the late 2050s, theatrical performances are apparently a thing of the past. Which I hope doesn't actually happen since I absolutely love attending live performances at the theater! Anyway, Roarke restored an old theater and then hired some of the most talented actors and actresses to star in the Grand Opening performance at the New Globe Theater. Roarke chose a murder mystery to be performed. Eve had never been to a theater and she was intrigued by the live performance, as well as trying to figure out which of the characters had murderous intent. The murder within the play ends up being a murder in real life, and that's when Eve and company step in. So, Eve herself is the "Witness in Death".

Since the majority of the suspects are actors, Eve has her work cut out for her. They are very, very good at lying and "telling their stories". With Roarke's help - which she certainly needs in order to do her job as quickly and efficiently as she does - she is able to track down personal histories and prior scrapes with the law. She also discovers all the decades-long connections this group of actors have with each other. The one thing they ALL have in common is that they detested the very talented and good looking star of the show, and victim: Richard Draco. Richard was a scumbag by all accounts and absolutely no one is sad that he is dead. Each of the suspects has a legitimate reason for wanting him dead as well.

I like how we get to see some of Eve's vulnerabilities as this series progresses. All of her relationships are developing as well. Peabody is starting to come into her own and pushing back a bit at Eve when it's warranted. Even Eve's interactions with Summerset are comfortably antagonistic. There is a mutual trust and respect between the two. It's just buried deep.

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

This is a great discussion book! I highly recommend it for book clubs. The premise is that everyone 22 years old or older, worldwide, gets a box delivered to them on the same night. Inside the box is a string, along with a message: The measure of your life lies within. So every adult gets a string, but the strings are all different lengths. At first people think it represents how long each person has left to live. Before too long though, they realize that the length of the string represents the length of their entire life. So, for obvious reasons, people who receive a short string are upset. Every day, as people turn 22 years old, they receive their box.

It's super interesting, and completely realistic, how different people react to the length of their strings. People are quickly referred to as "short-stringers" or "long-stringers". Short-stringers are abandoned by their significant others because of their short lifespan. Short-stringers decide not to have children, leave their jobs to travel, give up on their long-term goals/dreams. Short-String therapy groups are formed for support. It doesn't take long for society to be prejudiced against them. The military forces everyone in a military service to show their strings. The people with short strings are relegated to desk jobs. They only want long-stringers in active combat or in high positions.

There is a presidential election coming up, so the presidential candidates use string length to try to get elected. Counties like China force their citizens to register their string length with their government. Some long-stringers do crazy, dangerous things because they know they will live a long life. What some don't realize though, is that they could live a long life being paralyzed from the neck down because of some stupid stunt. Living a long life doesn't mean that it will be a good life!

There are some people that choose not to open their box. They want to just live their life not knowing how long they have. Some of these people are betrayed by their family members or significant others, who open their boxes without their knowledge of consent.

Again, this is a great discussion book! So many different opinions!

Wendy's Rating: *****

Loyalty in Death by JD Robb

Eve Dallas book #9. This installment in this futuristic New York Police Department's crime fighting series involves a bomber. The bomber leaves letters that explain the purpose of the bombs: destroy the corrupt, over-indulged, repressed society of New York. The letters end with the phrase "We are Cassandra". The letters refer to Cassandra causing destruction in the name of, or for the sake of, an unknown "Him". The letters always mention their loyalty to "Him".

In addition to this, Eve is called to the scene of the murder of a wealthy man, J. Clarence Branson. JC Branson, by all accounts a kind, honest man, is murdered by his mistress, Lisbeth Cooke. She stabs him with one of the tools that his company manufactures. She kills him because she finds out that he is cheating on her. The problem is, he is not the type of man to cheat - and no one has any evidence of this.

We are introduced to Peabody's brother, Zeke, who comes to town for a job. He stays with Peabody. Zeke is actually in love with his new client's wife, which is why he took the job. Also in the romance department, Peabody and McNab finally succumb to their attraction to each other.

Eve and crew (including Roarke, of course) try to track down the origin of Cassandra, who link themselves to Mt. Olympus (power and prophecy). Eve/Roarke eventually connect Cassandra to an earlier (30 years prior) group who went by the name of "Apollo". Most of Apollo's top leadership was killed at once, which is what stopped them.

All of these stories are interwoven. There are definitely a couple of surprises along the way, which is always nice. I love twists that I wasn't expecting. Eve and Roarke have been married for six months by now and they finally have a fight which causes Roarke to give Eve the silent treatment. Ha! It's about time. She would be difficult to be married to!

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch #4. Harry is in a bad place, career-wise and in his personal life. He's pretty much falling apart. He has lost everything he cares about: his home, his job, his girlfriend. He drinks a lot, smokes even more, and has acted out physically against a superior. I guess you have to reach rock bottom before you can start climbing out of the self-inflicted abyss though.

Since Harry has a little "break" from work, he decides it is way past time to discover what happened to his mother when he was a child. She was a prostitute who was murdered and left in a alley to be discovered, ironically, by a cop. This mission turns out to be a lot more complicated than he thought, and not only because of how long ago it happened. Certainly, some of the interested parties are retired, deceased, living in a different state, etc., but some of the people involved are wealthy and politically-minded and don't give Harry an inch when questioned. People are also murdered because of Harry's actions, which adds guilt to Harry's already-burdened soul.

The good news is that Harry finally starts opening up with the psychiatrist, Dr. Hinojos. Not only does he start sharing some of what he is feeling, but he starts to listen to her suggestions about changes he could make in his life to be happier. It takes a lot of energy to be so negative all the time! Harry does have a couple of people in his corner, which is lucky for him. He also meets another woman, who he connects with. I was definitely surprised by this turn of events. I thought he would become more self-aware of his actions which resulted in Sylvia breaking up with him and try to get her back. He gave up way too easy on that relationship.

Harry does discover what happened to his mother. His investigation definitely ended differently than I expected however. These books are very engaging and fast-paced. I like this series a lot.

Wendy's Rating: ****

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes

This had a slow start for me. I have a difficult time reading about self-entitled, smug, obnoxious people, so that might have been part of it. I was definitely not a fan of Nisha for the longest time. Nisha's husband was despicable. I also hated Sam's boss, Simon. And then there was Sam's depressed husband who refused to do anything at all to make his life better. Let's see, there were also Sam's parents who were whiney and demanding and completely annoying. It's just too much! I was able to keep reading because of the kindness of Jasmine and Andrea. These two women were steadfast, loyal, honest, supportive and pretty much "saved" the book for me.

Nisha Cantor was married to a very wealthy man who decided one day that he was done with her. So he shut down her access to their homes, money and clothing immediately. She had access to only the clothes on her back - and the shoes on her feet, which were actually not her own, since her bag got mixed up with another bag at the gym. Nisha's "replacement" was named Charlotte, who was her husband's secretary. Charlotte started wearing all of Nisha's prized attire. These people cared more about their clothes and shoes than anything else. Drove me nuts.

Sam Kemp is super kind, but stuck with a family that doesn't recognize her kindness, patience or hard work. She is also good at her job, but gets increasingly criticized about each and every thing by her new boss, who very obviously feels insecure in his own masculinity and leadership skills since he undermines everything that Sam does. I was appalled at Sam's colleagues too, who don't really stand up for her against him. Except Joel, but that's a different story. So much negativity!

Since I love Jojo Moyes, I knew to keep reading. I knew these women would find the strength to stand up for themselves against all these pitiful men. And there was a twist that I didn't see coming, which is always a nice surprise. So, my takeaway from this book is that superficial friends are worthless; you have to find your own self-worth and not try to find it in the eyes of others; stand up for yourself when you know you are being taken advantage of. Strap on those 6-inch red Louboutin shoes and walk confidently into the room to show people what you've got!

Wendy's Rating: ****

The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly

Although this is only the 3rd book in the Harry Bosch series, and there are 20+ books in the series, this was my favorite so far. Harry's demotion to the Hollywood Division is explained in Book #1, but this book brings Harry to trial about the Dollmaker case, which is what got Harry demoted. Harry had shot and killed a serial killer called the Dollmaker, who was actually unarmed at the time. Harry of course thought he was reaching for a gun, so shooting him was his response for self-defense. Harry is brought to trial by the Dollmaker's widow. She doesn't believe that her husband was the Dollmaker - and she also wanted Harry to pay for killing an unarmed man. At the beginning of this book, another body is discovered ("The Concrete Blonde" since the woman was blonde and buried under cement) with the Dollmaker's trademarks. She was killed two years previously and the Dollmaker was killed by Harry four years previously. So this brings into question whether Harry killed an innocent man.

In addition to Harry being involved in this trial, which doesn't appear to be going in his favor, due to the inexperience of his own lawyer vs. the expertise of the Plaintiff's lawyer, Honey Chandler, Harry is still dating the former spouse (Sylvia) of the cop gone bad in Book #2. It's already a year into their relationship and Harry loves Sylvia but she starts doubting his commitment to her. Being a cop's wife, she is super patient, but Harry's unwillingness to talk about his past and his obsession with the Dollmaker case, tries her patience.

As if that isn't intriguing enough (all of the above!), Harry starts to suspect a cop as another serial killer (referred to as the Follower) and uses a psychiatrist/author as a resource for information. This doctor, Locke, seems a little too interested in Harry's latest case, which makes me suspicious of him! And finally, Edgar does a really terrible thing to Harry and that really threw me for a loop. I don't like him so much anymore. This book was definitely a "page turner".

Wendy's Rating: ****

Conspiracy in Death by JD Robb

Book #8 in the Eve Dallas series. Eve is called to the scene of a murder of a street person whose diseased organ has been surgically removed by a skilled surgeon. This is puzzling since this series is written in future times and the use of donated organs is rare. Organs are manufactured in the 2050s and they last a lot longer than real organs. In addition to that, even in present time, no one would want to use a diseased organ for donation purposes. Eve and her team discover other similar murders in the US and in Europe. All of the people found dead had diseased organs which were surgically removed.

To add an additional layer to this story, Eve finds herself a target for a police officer that attended the Police Academy with her many years previously. Officer Bowers treats Eve with disrespect at two different crime scenes and Eve chastises her and reports her insubordination. This doesn't sit well with Officer Bowers, who pushes back. After Bowers is discovered murdered, Eve is considered a person of interest in her death. The end result is the department being forced to suspend Eve and take her badge & weapon. This sends Eve into a state of despair.

It takes Roarke and Mavis 2-3 days to force Eve out of her "funk". Eve eventually assists with the investigation into these deaths using Roarke's private resources, with behind-the scenes support from Peabody and company. Eve also undergoes some mentally challenging evaluations performed by Mira in order to prove that she is fit for her job. I like that Eve is being forced to deal with her past instead of being allowed to internalize her trauma. I like to see personal growth in main characters in all series of books.

Wendy's Rating: ****