The Competition By. Marcia Clark

The Competition – A Rachel Knight Novel is an entertaining summer read that kept me on my toes.  In the wake of a school shooting Knight and Keller join together to solve the how’s and why’s of this tragic crime.  I personally love mysteries that feature a female heroine and The Competition features two clever, resourceful and witty women.  A lead detective and a prosecutor, this team knows how to solve crimes and insure that criminals won’t get off on a technicality.  The criminals are well developed and researched, making the crimes believable, and the villains truly hideous. Full of suspense, twists, turns and a little bit of romance, this quick read will not disappoint. 

The Boleyn Reckoning By Laura Andersen

When I first picked up this book, I was drawn to the title alone.  I admit to being enamored by books about Ann Boleyn; so I admit even read the synopsis of what this book was about.  I requested it without a second thought, and was unbelievably excited when I was approved to review The Boleyn Reckoning.  This  folly left me completely lost as I read the first chapter .  I was eventually forced to go back and read the synopsis of the book.  After reading this I discovered that The Boleyn Reckoning, is the third book in a series of books about, what would have happened if Ann Boleyn had succeeded in producing a male heir.  Except for my initial confusing, which is of no fault of the author.  I found The Boleyn Reckoning to be easy to follow; even though it is the third book in the series and I haven't read the first two.  It's quite an intelligent piece of fiction, full of romance, betrayal, scheming, and honor.  I cannot wait to read the first two books in the series and any additional books that are published in the future.  If you like Tudor era books, you should give this series a try.

Jex Malone By. C.L. Gaber & V.C. Stanley

A new detective is in town and her name is Jex Malone.  Along with her fellow Drew-Ids, Jex seeks to solve the case that ripped her parent’s marriage apart.  The friends couldn’t be more different from one another; Jex is the sarcastically sassy one, Deva is the fashionista with funds, Cissy is the shy one, and Nat is the brains.  Together they create an unstoppable cold case-solving agency.

Jex has lived with her mother for most of her life, successfully escaping the court-mandated summers with her father.  The ignoring of court orders is swiftly put to an end with the threat of Jex’s mom having to do jail time.  So Jex gives into the courts and sets off for a summer with her father.  Jex Malone is a highly entertaining summer read, full of adventure, unlikely romance, and friendship. 

The Quick By, Lauren Owen

The Quick an intelligent mystery that left me genuinely surprised.  It’s a fiction novel that is refreshingly realistic.  I can’t wait to give this book to family and friends as a gift.  Taking place in Victorian London, this tale starts with a brother and sister.  James and Charlotte grow up close in their country home.  As they grow up James leaves for school, then London.  Leaving Charlotte to take care of their country home.  This novel has a realistic feel to it.  The realistic nature is what makes it so great.  I found the characters intriguing and had no trouble imagining the characters.  This novel is difficult to review without giving things away.  When the romance begins, just know that the book isn’t a romance novel.  If it were a romance novel, it would be a completely refreshing romance.  The Quick leans more towards the paranormal, secret society realm.

Before I Wake By, C.L. Taylor

Sue's daughter Charlotte lies in a coma after being struck by a bus.  Sue becomes convinced that Charlotte stepped in front of the bus on purpose.  But why?  Sue becomes obsessed about why her daughter to try to kill herself.  Following the clues, of what happened in the days leading up to her daughters accident, Sue attempts to pieces together what happened to cause her daughter to try to kill herself.  I really enjoyed this book, it's a visceral mystery.  A warning to women who have been in abusive relationships, if you are sensitive to the subject of domestic abuse do not read this book!  It will bring old emotions up.  C.L. Taylor presents the subject in a very realistic non-clique fashion.

The Murder Farm By, Andrea Maria Schenkel

A tale of murder told almost wholly after the fact.  The reader learns what happened on this infamous farm, through the neighbors and villagers who live in the same town the murder took place in.  It has more of a humanistic aspect to it focusing more on who the victims were rather than focusing on who killed them.  The tale is slow moving without a lot of suspense.  I liked the way that the story was told, but something felt off about it.  I worry that it may be something that was lost when this book was translated from German to English.  I really didn't care about any of the characters, but the characters weren't really likeable in the first place.  Overall I give book a three star rating.

Divided, By, Elsie Chapman

I really like the overall idea of Divided.  Kersh is a small city formed by a group of friends to keep themselves and future generations from the surround.  The Surround is an area that has been in a never-ending war with itself.  Due to overpopulation and limited resources the founders created a system to control the population.  This program is called the Alt program; every person who is born has an Alt version of himself or herself.  The Alt is genetically identical to the original person. Each alt is trained from a young age on how to kill, how to survive, because only one Alt will survive.  By doing this or having a system like this Kersh is able to preserve their resources and be a society of trained soldiers who would be able to defend themselves should the Surround ever chose to attack.  West, a retired striker (an assassin who kills Alts for people) is forced to go back to being a striker again.

            I really wanted to love this book, but there were some glaring inconsistencies that made it difficult for me to do so.  One that I can go into without spoiling anything is the subject of food.  If resources are scarce enough for the Alt program to be created, if the population numbers needed to be controlled then why was food treated the way it is in modern times?  Multiple fast food joints, ordering pizza, letting food go bad, buying food multiple times only to leave it behind?  It just didn't make sense to me.  There is a much larger story flaw but I can't go into it without ruining the surprise ending.  Overall this was a good book.  It was entertaining, the action was well written and the training centers were intriguing.  I really like the overall arch of the book, but there are some story flaws in the setting that really need to be addressed.