Stirred (Jack Daniels Mystery #8) by J.A. Konrath

Stirred by J.A. Konrath

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


They are the very best at what they do. Peerless. Unmatched.Only fate could bring two such extraordinary people together?or the depraved manipulations of a homicidal criminal who takes lives for the sheer pleasure of watching his victims die.Luther Kite is a monster among monsters, growing increasingly bored with his kills. So he sets his sights on the one adversary who can offer him a true challenge: Lt. Jacqueline ?Jack? Daniels, the best homicide detective to ever come out of the Chicago PD. Jack has brought the city's most notorious criminals to their knees. But now she may die on hers, in a specially crafted hell Luther Kite has been building for years. Trapped in a nightmare from which none have escaped, Jack has never been so close to death...nor had so much to live for.Fast-paced, suspenseful, and darkly comic, Stirred brings J.A. Konrath's Jack Daniels series and Blake Crouch's Luther Kite series to a riveting, heart-stopping conclusion.


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First I need to say that while the Forward in this book says that no prior knowledge of the Jack Daniels series by Konrath or the Luther Kite series by Crouch is necessary before reading this book, I personally think that it is a good idea to have already read them both. I found this to be a satisfying ending to the Jack Daniels series (though I am one of those fans who would not mind one bit if Konrath wrote another book in the series)but I would very much have liked to have already read the Crouch series before reading this book. I had them on my wishlist but now I think that I will probably not bother as I feel like I would not enjoy them as much when I already know what the conclusion is going to be.

I will however be searching high and low for any and all books/stories that contain even a glimmer of konrath's Jack Daniels characters in the future!

Konrath has definitely made me a fan!!

One aspect of this book that I loved is the ability to hyperlink characters and events to the descriptions and explanations contained at the end of the book. I think that this is a fabulous feature that ebooks are able to offer over paper/ink books.



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***Kindle Edition

Shaken (Jack Daniels Mystery, #7) by J.A. Konrath

Shaken by J.A. Konrath

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Chicago cop Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels has chased, and caught, dozens of dangerous criminals over the course of her career. But she's about to meet her match.
When Jack wakes up in a storage locker, bound and gagged, she knows with chilling certainty who her abductor is.

He's called "Mr. K." More than two hundred homicides have been attributed to him. His victims have died in the most horrible ways imaginable. He's the essence of evil. Some think he's just an urban legend. But he's real. Jack has tangled with him twice in the past, and both times he managed to slip away.

Now Jack will finally have a chance to confront the maniac she's been hunting for over twenty-five years. Unfortunately, it won't be on her terms. In less than two hours, Mr. K is going to do to Jack what he's done to countless others. And Jack is going to learn that sometimes the good guys don't win...



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I was a little concerned about the three different time lines, but it really worked well. In fact I would be willing to say that it increased the suspense three fold.

I love this series and I am going to be sad to read the last book, but I am thrilled to know that there are so many short stories that include Jack, Harry, Herb and Phin. I am looking forward to reading each and every one of them!!

This book gave us a lot of background for Jack and how she has been involved with some of the killers who have been featured in these books as well as some from other books.As always the action is non-stop and I found myself holding my breath as I turned the page to see how Jack was going to survive (though I never had any doubt that she would, with the help of her friends).



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***Kindle Edition

Rusty Nail (Jack Daniels Mystery #3) by J.A. Konrath

Rusty Nail by J.A. Konrath

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels of the Chicago Police Department is back, and once again she's up to her Armani in murder. Someone is sending Jack snuff videos. The victims are people she knows, and they share a common trait -- each was involved in one of Jack's previous cases. With her stalwart partner hospitalized and unable to help, Jack follows a trail of death throughout the Midwest, on a collision course with the smartest and deadliest adversary she's ever known. During the chase, Jack jeopardizes her career, her love life, and her closest friends. She also comes to a startling realization -- serial killers have families, and blood runs thick. Rusty Nail features more of the laugh-out-loud humor and crazy characters that saturated Whiskey Sour and Bloody Mary, without sacrificing the nail-biting thrills. This is Jack Daniels' third, and most exciting, adventure yet!

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Totally enjoyed this third book in the Jack Daniels series. Love the characters, love the action and enjoy the mystery. I figured out the whodunit pretty early on but that did not detract from my enjoyment of the story. Looking forward to reading the next in the series.



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Evil Reincarnate by Leigh Clark

Evil Reincarnate by Leigh Clark


From the Publisher
As murderer and sexual psychopath Tod Jarrow's pyschiatrist, Connie Stallman finds to her horror that she is inexplicably drawn to the seductive and enigmatic killer. She soon realizes that she can communicate with him on a level so intimate and deep that it seems to be telepathic. But how can she feel so close to a cold-blooded murderer?

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book ended up being a pretty good SS read.



Connie Stillman is a psychiatrist who believes that almost anyone can be helped, no matter the crimes they have committed. But when she encounters Tod Jarrow, a serial killer who mutilates his victims, she is drawn to him in a way that goes beyond a doctor/patient relationship. She finds herself on a journey that traverses time itself and she faces an evil worse than anything that she has every imagined before.



Not only her life, but the lives of her husband and children depend on her ability to understand what is happening to her and her ability to defeat an evil worse than the devil himself.




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A Terrible Beauty by Graham Masterton

SYNOPSIS
There are things I need to know...

On a farm in southern Ireland, the dismembered bones of eleven women are found in a common grave, buried eight decades ago. Detective Superintendent Katie Maguire is used to bloodshed, but this ivory litter of human remains is unimaginable butchery.

Of other worlds apart from this...

In isolated darkness not far away, an American tourist is at the mercy of a serial killer. His tools are a boning knife, twine, and a doll fashioned from nails and fishhooks. The murder of his victims is second only to the pleasure of their pain.

Darker places inhabited by evil monstrosities...

As an eighty-year-old mystery unfolds, so does a modern-day ritual that's marked Katie Maguire as its next victim. For what happened once in this small picturesque village is happening again. It's more than a series of horrifying crimes. It's tradition.

Take me there.


My Opinion
Absolutely loved this book. The main character was well developed and multi-faceted. The story line was excellent and the sick shit was truly sick!

Katie is a detective in an Irish police force. She is in fact the first woman detective and therefore in the spotlight and working hard to prove her worth. She is married to a man who has lost his way and dabbles in the not so legal side of things. On top of this she is dealing with the grief of having lost her only child. Her character is well developed and she is very likeable.

When she gets a call to investigate the discovery of 11 sets of human remains buried on a farm she begins on a journey that has many twists and turns along the way. It is discovered that the bones are over 80 years old, and therefore not of immediate consequence, but when a young girls remains are found in the same condition as the unearthed skeletons, Katie tackles the case with determination. This storyline is fantastic! I totally enjoyed this book and the ending was as good as the journey!!

#61 -- Resurrection Dreams by Richard Laymon

FROM THE PUBLISHER
A man discovers he has the ability to bring people back from the dead, and he's determined to work his magic on the girl of his dreams--but first he'll have to kill her.


My Opinion
One thing I can say for Laymon, he can be counted on to deliver if you are looking for sick & twisted.

Melvin Dobbs is the kind of guy that no one likes and everyone likes to pick on and for good reason. Melvin's obsession is to resurrect the dead. After a high school stunt to resurrect a dead cheerleader backfires, Melvin is sent away to an institution where he is 'cured' of his obsession, or so he says.

Vicki was the only girl in high school who ever stood up for Melvin. Now she is back in Elsworth after completing her medical school and residency, to practice medicine in her hometown. But along with her education she brings nightmares of Melvin 'resurrecting' the dead cheerleader. She knows that she is going to have to face Melvin again, but she never dreams that she will become the driving force behind his obsession.

Melvin is determined to prove that he is 'Melvin the Magnificent' and bring back someone from the dead. The lack of cadavers to experiment on does not stop him either. He just creates his own. After many tries he is finally successful in resurrecting a nurse that he has murdered. The ensuing horror that comes with his success is a sick and twisted ride through the imagination of Laymon.

A good zombie story, with interesting characters. I quite enjoyed it!

#57 -- Lie to Me by David Martin

Library Journal
Certainly not for the squeamish, this taut, gripping, and bloody thriller details the mad ravings of a warped personality. After seven years in prison, Philip confronts someone from his past, tortures her wealthy husband, and demands money. The following day, when the woman reports her husband's gory ``suicide,'' policeman Theodore Camel, astute but just marking time, suspects something more. As the plot alternates between the ex-con's depraved psychosexual fantasies and Camel's perseverance, tension takes hold, shaking the reader with the possible reality of it all. Scary.

My Opinion

Excellent book. While the story is sick and twisted and definitely not for the squeamish it has a great plot and is very fast moving. I did not want to put it down once I started. While I was able to figure out some of the plot, other things took me completely by surprise. Excellent SS book!!! I will be looking for more books by this author.

#36 -- Hush by Mark Nykanen

From the Publisher
Art therapist Celia Griswold works at a center for severely emotionally disturbed children in rural Oregon, encouraging them to express their feelings through drawing. When seven-year-old Davy Boyce, an “elective” mute, is brought in by his strange, threatening stepfather, Chet, Celia senses that something is very wrong with the boy – his behavior is violent and his drawings suggest abuse. She tries to communicate her concerns to Chet, but she finds herself suddenly fearful. What starts as a simple puzzle in an ordinary woman’s life becomes a harrowing cat-and-mouse game. As Chet realizes that Davy’s drawings may reveal more truth than is acceptable, he begins to stalk Celia.

My Opinion

This is a very intense psychological thriller. The last 100 pages are non stop action and it is an excellent read. I will be looking for more books by this author.