Murder at Haven's Rock, Hallmark Mysteries, PBS

 Hey all! I see I started a post April 5th and then nothing. Well there was something. HVAC went out. In Texas. No can do. That whole week was getting someone in and yes getting a new unit. Research, estimates, workers in the house. All great now. Just in the nick of time.

Meanwhile I listened to:

Murder at Haven's Rock by Kelley Armstrong book #1 in the series.

This is a spin off of the Rockton series which has seven books in the series. I listened to two books in the Rockton series and then jumped to Haven's Rock. Why did I do that? I wanted to see if the Haven's Rock series is as good as the Rockton series and can you read Haven's Rock without reading all of the Rockton books.. If so, I want to recommend it for my Mystery Book Club. Unfortunately, our library system doesn't have enough of each book for everyone to get a copy about the same time. So my collaborator suggested we do a Kelley Armstrong month. 

My assessment? Yes and Yes!

About: "Deep in the Yukon wilderness, a town is being built. A place for people to disappear, a fresh start from a life on the run. Haven’s Rock isn’t the first town of this kind, something detective Casey Duncan and her husband, Sheriff Eric Dalton, know first-hand. They met in the original town of Rockton. But greed and deception led the couple to financing a new refuge for those in need. This time around, they get to decide which applicants are approved for residency.

There’s only one rule in Haven’s Rock: stay out of the forest. When two of the town's construction crew members break it and go missing, Casey and Eric are called in ahead of schedule to track them down. When a body is discovered, well-hidden with evidence of foul play, Casey and Eric must find out what happened to the dead woman, and locate those still missing. The longer Casey and Eric don’t know what happened, the more danger everyone is in."

Casey and Eric have left Rockton to start their own town and run it more like they want. They have a construction crew building out the town in an isolated spot in the Yukon. They do have a "backer" or "sponsor" from Rockton. A few of the citizens from Rockton are on site and participating in the building of the town. Some are new and hired only for the construction phase. Casey and Eric come to the town for the first time after being called out to find the two missing workers. They also find disgruntled employees. 

The book jumps right in to the action. I like how Casey and Eric plan and solve together. They also bring in Will to help. Is the dead woman their employee Penny? Whose mining camp did they stumble onto? Who is this strange women who has a wolf for a pet? Lots of suspects, lots of things happen out in this developing settlement/town out in the wilderness. 

I did really like it and will recommend it. I am anxious to see how the new town turns out. I would say if you like Joe Pickett, these books have a similar atmosphere. 

Have you checked out the new Hallmark Mystery channel? The have a new Hannah Swensen movie on this month.

One Bad Apple: "Hannah meets a new side of law & order as she investigates a murder and crosses paths with by-the-books prosecuting attorney Chad Norton. Meanwhile, Delores has a secret. Starring Alison Sweeney, Victor Webster and Barbara Niven.:

Hannah's love interest Mike has left town for the FBI. Hannah is teaching a baking class at the local college and one of the professors is found dead. Hannah gets involved of course. She has to work with a new DA on an old case and he doesn't want her getting her nose in these things anymore. Hannah's mother has a new career path. I found her part in this movie pretty funny.

Curious Caterer Mysteries are back, based on the books by Diane Mott Davidson.

Foiled Plans Premiere Date: Friday, April 26, 2024

"Goldy Berry's Medieval feast at Hyde Castle gets interrupted by a murder. She teams up with Detective Shultz to solve the mystery before the murderer strikes again. Starring Nikki DeLoach and Andrew Walker."

Family Practice Mysteries: Premiere Date: Friday, May 17, 2024

"A former Army surgeon moves back to her hometown and joins a practice of family doctors, but when she’s drawn into solving the mysterious death of a patient, her quiet life becomes upended. Starring Amanda Schull and Brendan Penny."

PBS:  Guilt starts April 28th for it's third and last season. Bummer.

"Max and Jake find themselves back in Edinburgh where they soon face a familiar danger. Kenny tries to help a family member, while dramatic action plays out at a farm.

Now in its third and final season, the award-winning TV series Guilt is a darkly funny Scottish thriller. Mismatched brothers Max and Jake McCall are reunited, but enemies old and new cause them to seek ever more desperate solutions to their ongoing problems. Digging deep into their past, Max (Mark Bonnar, Napoleon, World on Fire) and Jake (Jamie Sives, Annika, Chernobyl) hope to finally find a future free of danger…and each other."

There you have it. 

I read Where are the Children? and the new book Where are the Children Now? for our May Mystery Book Club. I will tell you what I thought about those soon. 

Two Nights in Lisbon, A Darkness Absolute

 Happy Spring! Here is a picture from a drive we took last week. After several really dry years, it is so nice to see so many wildflowers coming up this year.

Our Mystery Book Club read Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone for our April book.

I think this was the first book by this author that 99% of the group had read.

About: "Tautly wound and expertly crafted, Two Nights in Lisbon is a riveting thriller about a woman under pressure, and how far she will go when everything is on the line.

You think you know a person . . .

Ariel Pryce wakes up in Lisbon, alone. Her husband is gone―no warning, no note, not answering his phone. Something is wrong.

She starts with hotel security, then the police, then the American embassy, at each confronting questions she can’t fully answer: What exactly is John doing in Lisbon? Why would he drag her along on his business trip? Who would want to harm him? And why does Ariel know so little about her new―much younger―husband?

The clock is ticking. Ariel is increasingly frustrated and desperate, running out of time, and the one person in the world who can help is the one person she least wants to ask."

I liked it. It is a long book but it moves very fast. I liked how the story unfolds with Ariel discovering her husband of three moths is gone from the hotel room in Lisbon, her thought process of what to do, wait? report it? And then convincing people to take action. I liked reading what the local police are thinking and what the Embassy thinks about the kidnapping. More people are brought in for the investigation. I like reading how the professionals work through the issue, investigating not just the crime but Ariel and her husband John. We gradually find out more about Ariel and John. Without giving away spoilers, the story really escalates in the last third of the book. Many twists and surprises. There is a lot more going on than we know.

What did our book club members think? It was 50/50, like/didn't like. Those that liked it, liked the pace, the writing and the suspense. Those that didn't, didn't like specific characters. Those that liked it, want to read more by this author. The book does deal with a tough subject. Again I don't want to give away too much. Nevertheless, we had a good discussion with the varying opinions.

I listened to an interesting interview with Chris Pavone, who talked about his writing style. His style and twists and when they occur are very purposeful. I did not listen do the entire interview due to time but the first part was very informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkicMd_coRw

I am also enjoying listening to the Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong. 

I recently finished book two: A Darkness Absolute.

About: " It's winter in Rockton, a little town hidden deep in the wilds of the Yukon. The town exists for people who need to escape their pasts, though it's not clear if those in hiding are victims or perpetrators. Or, when the lines gets blurred, maybe both. Ask Casey. She's been used, betrayed, beaten. But she's also killed someone. She moved to Rockton to help her best friend, Diana. Ex-best friend. Diana lied to get Casey to come with her; she used her and she almost got her killed. But Casey decided to stay anyway, to work as a detective alongside her new boyfriend and the town's sheriff, Eric Dalton. Fresh off solving a series of grisly murders, Casey and Deputy Will Anders get stranded in a blizzard while they're tracking a runner from the town. Seeking shelter in a cave, they stumble across a woman who's been imprisoned in a deep well. Nicole Chavez--whom everybody thought had run away from town and died in the woods more than a year earlier--is alive. Barely. But she can't identify her captor: she's never seen his face.

Was she taken by one of the hostiles who inhabit the wilderness around the town? Or is Casey facing something even worse? In a town where everyone lies about their past and lives under assumed identities, it's very easy to hide your true nature..."

This series is definitely suspenseful. The writing is very descriptive to the point that you can picture the wilderness, the snow and cold and the desolation of the forest. These stories are not cozies. The main characters, Casey, Eric and Will, are people you can like and want to know more about. The stories are developing their work and personal relationships. We learn more about the town and it's workings.  I like how the characters work together to solve the case. Some very unexpected things happen, some "oh-no" moments, and some "was that a good idea" moments. But all and all, I am liking the series. 

I would recommend it if you like very suspenseful books with characters you can root for and get to know.

https://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/series/rockton/