ROMEO SPIKES by Joanne Reay **

I read up to chapter 23 so I gave it a lot of time to draw me in and it never did. It bored me basically. So much is about describing the afterlife, the people who steal the end of other people's lives and their mysterious underground club. Or clubs. There are the good guys and the bad guys. I think both sides have infiltrators switching sides so they can stay a step ahead of the others.

This is a spiritual, read weird languages, see odd cults and try to figure out who's good, who's bad and then you get more and more how people first met and what they look like now and what the underground groups are up to CONSTANTLY. I just dropped it in frustration. Don't like it. You decide I gave up.

BLOODMAN by Robert Pobi *****

I'll give it the 5 stars because truly it was a confusing mass of murder and blood. You continue to read it hoping the author will drop a clue. Do not hold your breath. First important clue isn't till page 137, and another helpful clue is in chapter 50 otherwise you are literally kept in the dark with this psycho cop named Jake Cole who got drunk over a 5 day period and tattooed himself in 16 pt all over his body a part of Dante's Inferno. Cute.

Do not ask me how he gets so much praise and credit from any police dept. he works in. Apparently he grew up with a famous artist who's wife and dog were mysteriously killed about 20 years ago. The artist lived with Jake until he went off to the city I think and got married, worked as a cop who had a savants' memory where he'd walk a murder scene and could go back anytime in his head and walk it over and over looking for clues which he passed on to other agencies, like where fingerprints are likely to be, his mom's car (after 20 yrs) and stuff like that, where hairs were.

He goes back to visit his dad and of COURSE his dad cannot just write down or tell anyone at all who burned him up and cut off his hands. Geez, another cripple victim who can't name the one person who done it thruout the entire book. BUT he CAN paint a picture of the killer with his bloody arms. That's all. Just a pic, no name. It would have been much simpler to just write the killer's name. This part is actually meaningless and gets other people killed in the process.

But once you're involved and sort of guessing you know who the killer likely is you need to finish the book for the answer. Duh; I was right. Happy bloody reading to you. Jake was an alcoholic in AA and that's where he met his totally dysfunctional and off the charts tattooed wife with huge boobs who enjoys being strangled during sex, or so he thinks, she actually never says one way or another. Good luck trying to keep up with 50 Shades there, pal.

KILL YOU TWICE by Chelsea Cain ***

Edge of the seat murder story. The thing I hated totally was the way the stupid cop screwed everything that moved and was so in love with a woman who carved him up and almost killed him once that he set her free from the nuthouse so she could kill him again.

Otherwise if you can get past "I don't know how old he is" but he screws teenagers or 30 yr olds or women who remain ageless in the story and fat ugly criminals he's in love with the rest of the story is okay. He has a best friend who watches out for him, why I have no idea cuz this guy belongs in a nuthouse himself.

I think it's totally unbelievable.

STEALING FROM THE DEAD by A.J.Zerries ****

Mostly about a female cop who is dealing with her NY dept. Some people aren't doing their work properly, she stumbles on a conspiracy of crooks who kill elderly European Jewish people for their great great grandparents bank money from Swiss banks who also held German gold. Apparently I wouldn't trust a Swiss banker and who's side were they on, Hitlers? These banks don't want to payout anything until a senator put a stop to that and they are forced to. The people getting the money have many forms to fill out and no one it seems goes around looking for them. I guess there is a list someplace the crooks found it.

People get killed the crooks have them fill out the paperwork first and open a Swiss account that they can get to. Greta Strasser goes against all the cop policies to get to the villains. There are way lots of names here, way lots of crooks and things going on. Might help to take notes. I just read it with a little confusion till I figured out who what and why then kept going.

Personally not my type of story.I'm actually sick and tired of crimes that are 60 yrs old that are just now being uncovered and figured out and the cops are after people for. This is the most common theme I've run into reading mysteries. Nothing is current. Fed up with that crap. Doesn't anyone have a new idea in their head? Why write without digging up some old crime no one gives a shit about?

ICE COLD KILL by Dana Haynes *****

Once you overcome the stifling names of everyone, probably after chapter 3 or so, the book is very compelling and keeps you moving along from one action scene to another.

A spook, Daria is working for the CIA, and also a secret underground org. from Israel. She meets up with an unlikely companion Khalid Belhadj and they struggle to figure out what is occuring to destroy a country via bio warfare. Normally they would be enemies, in the past Daria had shot Khalid and he was pretty pissed off looking for her but then he fell under her spell and worked with her. Neither trusted the other for a long time.

It had a lot of tension and interesting and thoughtful premise. I liked it a lot would buy it.

GUILT by Jonathan Kellerman ****

NY Times bestselling author for good reason, he tells a good story. This has Alex Delaware in it, and the cop who eats all the time.

If I had to complain about something it would be the plethora of names. Just one after another slam bam. I don't like that. Two cases are occurring at the same time.

It reads slow and methodical, nothing to hurry, not a huge page turner for me but a good story all the same. Get at library.

ROCK BOTTOM by Erin Brockovich/CJ Lyons ****

Sort of involved (confusing) story of a girl who returns home with her wheelchair bound son to meet his father and reconnect with her family (?) Not sure about why she returned honestly. I guess this Elizabeth girl hired her to help her find out why her father was killed.

Basically the story centers around top of the mountain destruction for coal and what happens to the crap the coal miners don't want, how it gets into the ground water and poisons the area but this one has a lot of people involved. Multiple people hire other people to kill or stop other people. Apparently a lot of money is involved and everyone wants some of it. There's a guy in the story Yanceyt or something that has what author calls his "Ladies" with a capital L. I have no idea WTF that's all about. Do people not need names? Do they not need to be part of the story somehow? I didn't like her calling them the Ladies at all. Pissed me off for some reason. If they're dressed in camo and living in trees like monkeys can we find something else to call them like the army girls or something more rugged?? WTF?

So AJ our main character is still in love with the baby daddy even tho he's in love with a vicious killer female. Makes sense to me. Her parents are weird as hell too. Have fun reading this one. Lots of strange people in it for sure. I would get it at the library. Somewhat confusing.

LET THE DEVIL SLEEP by John Verdon ****

Not a bad story at all and keeps you guessing about who the killer is. The premise one retired cop has is not accepted by real cops working these cases. He is trying to keep everything separate and decides that too many people are killed to hide the real reason for the murders. The killer is a pretty damn good shooter, wish I had a talent like that.

Anyways there is a teeny bopper girl who's relative was killed by the killer and some TV person decides to write stories of the survivor and makes a reality tv show out of it. I thought it was tasteless but apparently it went on the air, more people were again killed for new reasons and the cop Dave Gurney is trying to figure it all out on his own with some help from real cops he used to work with who hate  and enjoy pissing off the FBI so they go behind their back to try and solve these deaths.

I thought it deserves a good reading. Not edge of the seat but a very good story if you like murder and mystery you got it all here. I would get it at the library. Lots of names to learn ... good luck with that.