Reviewed by Sierra Edelen for Readers' Favorite

Jo Riskin is a woman trying to get past the worst disaster of her life after her husband was murdered. When a young girl's body turns up in the bad part of town, Jo and her partner, Lynae, are on the case to solve the crime, while also tracking down leads as to who killed her husband, Mike. With twists and turns all over, and leads going nowhere and everywhere, Warped Ambition by Debbie TenBrink is a wonderful novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat during every page. The real question is, will Jo be able to find the young girl's murderer as well as her husband's before it's too late and she is drawn into the madness and despair of losing everything? Or will she prevail and solve the case, bringing justice to the girl's family?

Warped Ambition is a very riveting read. It was a struggle to put down and made reading very enjoyable with the author's mastery of not revealing too much at any given point and giving just enough away to keep the reader guessing and coming up with their own theories until all is revealed. Having only recently gotten into murder mysteries, I found this to be a very refreshing story that kept my attention throughout with its well chosen words and plot twists as well as the style of writing. Anyone who is looking for a fresh new experience out of their comfort zone, as well as those who already love the genre, would enjoy this crime novel.

Reviewed by Alma Boucher for Readers' Favorite

Twisted Threads is a psychological thriller written by Kaylin McFarren. Akira used to be a geisha, but is forced to be an assassin working for the Yakuza boss. She hates herself for what she is doing. She is ordered to board a cruise ship to determine who killed her boss’s sister. A couple named Paul and Sara Lyons is under suspicion. One of them is the murderer and Akira must investigate to determine which one. If she succeeds, she can start a new life, but if she fails her mother will be killed. The Lyons couple is accompanied by their nephew, Devon Lyons. Akira befriends Devon to get information about his aunt and uncle. She realized she was starting to trust Devon. They work together to solve the murder and find themselves fighting for their lives.

I was captivated and intrigued by Twisted Threads by Kaylin McFarren. There is a lot of action in the story, and it is fast-paced. There are unexpected twists and turns in the plot I did not see coming. It is suspenseful and nail-biting from the beginning. I just kept reading until the finish because I had to know how it ended. The violence was descriptive and left nothing to the imagination. The characters were complicated and complex. They were authentic and I loved them. My favorite character is Akira. She is strong and well-trained and sometimes needs protection. Twisted Threads is well-written and developed. This mystery brings the themes of murder, revenge, and loyalty together. I guarantee that the ending will be a big surprise.

Reviewed by Sherri Fulmer Moorer for Readers' Favorite

The 11:05 Murders (Volume 2 of the Inspector Sheehan Mysteries) by Brian O'Hare is a thrilling, well paced mystery that takes you into another world. WDS Denise Stewart is trying to do her best with a promotion after a devastating experience at her last job posting that resulted in the arrest of one of her team, and harassment by others that were supposed to help and support her. She believes she's on the right track with her new colleagues, who are more cordial, understanding, and kind than her former posting. But she fears her past may be coming back to haunt her when she lands a part in her first case: the grisly murder of a prominent loan officer. As she helps her team investigate this case, a mysterious stalker attacks another member of her team, and another murder occurs at exactly the same time: 11:05 p.m. on a Tuesday night. Seemingly random connections weave around one another as another tragedy is revealed from twelve years ago, making Stewart, Inspector Sheehan, and the rest of the team wonder if these discoveries are really unrelated, or if they merge together in an unlikely way.

The 11:05 Murders (Volume 2 of the Inspector Sheehan Mysteries) is a murder mystery done perfectly. The characters are easy to relate to and likable, the plot has enough elements to keep you guessing, the pacing is perfect, and Brian O'Hare keeps a tight lid on "whodunit" until the very end - and even then, the motives for these crimes are shrouded in mystery until it all comes together on the final pages. There are enough "plausible suspects" to keep you guessing, and this novel has no slow spots where you wander off into anything meaningless (in fact, I urge you to pay close attention to everything). This is a great mystery book; just what I was looking for, and I highly recommend it to readers that love a great mystery.

Reviewed by Sefina Hawke for Readers' Favorite

Open Season by Alisa Schindler is an intriguing mystery novel that would appeal most to a mixed audience of young adults and adults who enjoy murder mysteries and baseball. Wayne Savage was the Little League baseball coach well known for his big ego and personality; he was equally respected and loathed by all those who knew him. Yet his reign as head Little League coach ends with his corpse on the home plate. Was Wayne Savage’s personality enough to finally drive someone off the deep end or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Open Season by Alisa Schindler is a very well written murder mystery with a mix of intrigue, suspense, drama, and baseball. The author’s decision to use emails as a method of communication between the different characters was a nice addition as it allowed for communication between the characters without wasting pages on setting up full scenes. I found the story itself enjoyable, though I do wish there had been more focus on the murder itself instead of all the focus on the reactions of those who had a connection to the team. My favorite part in the book would have to be chapter 26 where the author shares a flashback of what actually happened to Wayne Savage. Overall, this book had more of a baseball drama feel to it than murder mystery, but I found myself intrigued by the way the different characters dealt with the death of coach Wayne Savage. I really did enjoy reading this book.

Reviewed by Kimberlee J Benart for Readers' Favorite

White Jaguar: An Inspector Marco Nayal Novel is a murder mystery by Preben Ormen that takes place in Mexico. It introduces Inspector Marco Kante Nayal Espinosa of the Federal Police, who is assigned to investigate the murder of a man found floating in the mangroves of northern Yucatan. Marco finds himself in a widening plot that produces more murder, reaches far beyond Mexico, and includes attempts on his own life as well. Assisted in the investigation by Detective Jesus Vicente Hernandez Campo, called Chuy, and aided by the inspiration of his Mayan spirit guide, the white jaguar, Marco follows the clues and forensic evidence from one witness, dangerous character, and scene to another until the plot reaches a crescendo with its unexpected conclusion.

If you like murder mysteries featuring investigative twists and turns, and plenty of forensic work along the way, White Jaguar is for you. Ormen builds the drama slowly at first, adding layer upon layer of characters, suspects, and motives. I enjoyed the Yucatan setting, the Mexican cultural references, and the touch of Mayan spirituality. Marco’s character is developed through his inner thoughts, his interviews of suspects and witnesses, and his interactions with Chuy and other members of his investigative team. The action moves at a good pace with well-described scenes. I’ve never been to Yucatan, but I could imagine being there. The plot twists held my interest, as what started out as an apparent theft and murder for agricultural technology became something far more threatening, sinister, and dangerous. An engaging read.

Reviewed by Ken Stark for Readers' Favorite

Cut-Throat Syndrome by Michael Allan Scott starts off with a bang. A commercial airliner is destroyed, and a hacker group called Vendetta claims responsibility for the massive death toll. Closer to home, a boy involved with Vendetta turns up dead, and it's up to a cop, an ex-SEAL turned PI, and a psychic named Lance Underphal to piece it all together. But in a world of hackers and criminals and alphabet-agencies willing to do anything to hide their deep, dark secrets, it's clear that they'll have to break a few rules to get anywhere close to the truth.

Cut-Throat Syndrome is the fourth book in the Lance Underphal series, and I wish I could give a more detailed synopsis, but there are so many delightful and gruesome twists and turns to the story that it would be a disservice to even try. From the inner workings of the intelligence community to the Dark Web to Lance's journeys through the nonphysical realm, this is a cleverly-woven tale of espionage, intrigue and shadowy entities playing one hand against the other, with just a touch of the paranormal to give it a kick in the pants. Clearly, a lot of research went into this story, and it shows. But as always, it comes down to characters.

Not having read any of the other three books, I thought I might be lost, but such is Michael Allan Scott's talent that I immediately knew every one of these characters, and I cared about them all. They are done to perfection. Real people with real personalities and real demons. And now that I know them, you can bet that I'll be traipsing back through time soon enough to get to know them better and see what other mischief they've been up to.

Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite

In Pancake Money by Finn Bell, Bobby Ress is a young detective who works homicide in the small city of Dunedin at the bottom of the South Island of New Zealand. He has a firm conviction of who he is and what his role is in this crazy world of good guys vs bad guys. With his more experienced partner Pollo beside him to guide him, Bobby firmly believes that what he does makes a difference. When elderly priests, who appear on the surface to be almost saintly, start turning up dead, alarm bells start ringing in Dunedin. These priests have not only been murdered, but were also tortured and died in abject misery, their bodies arranged in some sort of ritualistic representation of Catholic history. It seems that somehow the local gang, The Manga Tahu, must be involved, but why and why kill these priests so horrifically? Bobby and Pollo must solve these dreadful crimes before more people wind up dead.

When I started reading and discovered this story took place in my old hometown of Dunedin, it definitely did bring it more alive for me. The places and references made total sense to me. Pancake Money is an out and out thriller/cop mystery and does extremely well on that level alone. The tension is tight, the main characters are well-defined and the story rollicks along from one killing, one mystery, to another. It’s a hard book to put down. What I appreciated even more from Finn Bell was his attempt to examine some of the more interesting aspects of human behavior through the narrative. The author doesn’t shy away from asking and attempting to answer the big questions of good vs evil, and what makes a moral man turn to violence and even progress to insanity. I was super impressed with this book and it has opened my eyes up to another new author worth following. I particularly liked the section at the end of the book, where the author shares his own philosophy on some of these issues. It definitely made me smile. A great job by this author.

Reviewed by Ankita Shukla for Readers' Favorite

Cold Case No. 99-5219 is the fourth book in the Samantha Church Mystery Series by Betta Ferrendelli. When she visited her sister's grave, Sam found another grave with a very peculiar headstone. The inscription on the headstone did not say anything about the real name of the child who was buried there; instead, it called her "Baby Hope" and had an appeal to the general public to call the given number if they knew anything about the infant. Sam was deeply touched by Baby Hope and decided to dig more to discover something that might help solve this cold case. She talked to her friend and the owner of Perspective, (the place where she worked as a reporter) Wilson, and convinced him that there might be a story here. Although he wasn't happy with the idea, she got the go-ahead from Wilson and started digging around. Amidst this very important murder investigation, she was also dealing with her personal troubles. Earlier Sam had had a problem with alcohol and was unfit to raise her daughter, April. Given this scenario, April had been living with her grandmother, Esther. The relationship between Sam and Esther was very bitter since Esther held Sam responsible for the suicide of her son. To get April back, Sam started going to the AA meetings and soon she would have to stand in front of a judge to get full custody of her daughter.

I thoroughly enjoyed Baby Hope's murder investigation. The author has included so many emotional tidbits in the plot that only a stony-hearted reader could remain detached. When I started reading about the cops finding a baby's corpse in a dumpster and then never being able to solve the case, I wasn't instantly glued, but then the author worked her magic wand and I was hooked to everything related to the case. The subplot involving Sam missing her daughter was quite emotional, too. Her intense feeling in hearing April's voice and her helplessness in getting hold of April on special occasions - due to Esther's resentment towards her - added an extra emotional factor to the already emotional murder mystery. The romance was sprinkled into the plot -- only sprinkled-- but it neither took center stage nor got any vocal acknowledgment from the characters. Every character is very much relatable and the events are quite practical. Nothing miraculous happened which might take away from the plausibility of the plot. Everything from the characters to the intrigue of the murder mystery is well executed. To rate Cold Case No. 99-5219 by Betta Ferrendelli anything less than 5 stars would be an injustice. Readers who like an emotional, turmoil-packed murder mystery will be highly pleased with this heartfelt work.

Reviewed by Gretchen Jawurek for Readers' Favorite

Hair raising, but delightful was my overall reaction to Dumpster Dicing. I know it is a strange reaction, but you have to read the book to get a full understanding of what I mean.

Dumpster Dicing: Bunco Biddies Book 1 by Julie B. Cosgrove is a murder mystery set in a retirement community. It starts right out with the murder of one of the recent residents being discovered by Janie and her friend Betsy Ann, two women of a group of twelve friends who get together once a week for Bunco. The action bounces right along as the intrepid, yup, I said it, intrepid ladies sleuth for clues to figure out who did it and why. As they turn up clues, the mystery gets complicated, but they don’t give up - even when Janie, their leader, is threatened in every way possible. Then, of course, there is the detective son-in-law, Blake, who is constantly driven crazy, trying to get Janie and the girls to stay out of it and leave it to the police, but in the end they win him over as well. And in the end the ladies solve the case, of course!

The characters are engaging and you end up wishing for a group of friends just like them. The plot is based on the investigation and unraveling of the mystery, so for those of you who love a good mystery or to quote Ms. Cosgrove “a cozy clean” mystery, this book is for you. This one is also for readers out there that love knitting, cooking, and Renaissance Faire mysteries, or anyone who just enjoys a good mystery - they will love it! It encompasses friends, mystery, and getting together to do an activity. You will gasp and laugh and want to settle into your favorite chair and finish the book in one sitting.

Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

Smugglers & Scones: Moorehaven Mysteries #1 is a sleuth mystery novel written by Morgan C. Talbot. Pippa Winterbourne had never seriously considered a career as a private investigator, but her occupation as the hostess/proprietor of the Moorehaven Bed & Breakfast certainly would have qualified her to work as one. The luxurious B&B, which was perched on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Seacrest, Oregon, was the former home of Raymond Moore, a prolific and renowned mystery writer, who left his estate to Pippa’s Uncle Hilt with the provision that only mystery authors would be allowed to stay as paying guests. The company of mystery writers was fraught with the unexpected as they invariably ate, spoke and lived, often with sub-optimal results, the plots they were dreaming up in their minds. After all, what better way to craft an authentic experience for your character than to live it first? Pippa’s world was mystery, and she had become quite content with that fact. One night, however, she was awoken by the shrieking of tortured metal, and she realized that a boat had gone aground on the rocks below the B&B. She ran outside and saw the splintered remains of a boat with one lone man clutching onto the debris. Pippa threw him a flotation ring from one of the rescue boxes on the beach stairs and towed the disoriented man onto the beach. He had no memory of the last few hours, and complained of a head injury. Only later did the authorities find the body of a second man who was on that boat, and the rescued man was their prime suspect.

Morgan C. Talbot’s sleuth mystery novel, Smugglers & Scones: Moorehaven Mysteries #1, is an appealing blend of the noir mystery, cozy mystery and romantic suspense genres as Pippa, Lake, and the Moorehaven guests work to solve the mystery surrounding a Prohibition-era treasure. Talbot’s plot is first-rate, giving the armchair sleuth plenty of red herrings and clues to work with, and her characters are authentic and multi-faceted. I particularly enjoyed reading about Raymond Moore, Talbot’s classic crime fiction writer, and reading the selected quotes from his work which appear as the headings for each of her chapters. The setting for this novel, a Gothic pile perched over the Pacific Ocean is brilliant, and the little town of Seacrest was very inviting indeed, excepting, of course, for the non-stop damp, drizzle and fog that is coastal Oregon. Smugglers & Scones: Moorehaven Mysteries #1 is well-written and a joy to read; it’s highly recommended.