In the Clearing Book Review

In the Clearing by Robert Dugoni

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Blurb:

Detective Tracy Crosswhite has a skill, and a soft spot, for tackling unsolved crimes. Having lost her own sister to murder at a young age, Tracy has dedicated her career to bringing justice and closure to the families and friends of victims of crimes.

So when Jenny, a former police academy classmate and protege, asks Tracy to help solve a cold case that involves the suspicious suicide of a Native American high school girl forty years earlier, Tracy agrees. Following up on evidence Jenny's detective father collected when he was the investigating deputy, Tracy probes one small town's memory and finds dark, well-concealed secrets hidden within the community's fabric. Can Tracy uphold the promise she's made to the dead girl's family and deliver the truth of what happened to their daughter? Or will she become the next victim?

Review by Brittany:

I always comment on books that are part of series but work fine as a standalone, and that's what this one does. It's the third in the Tracy Crosswhite series, but a reader could pick this one up without needing to know the full stories of the other two. As is usually the case, reading the previous books will enhance this novel, but it's not necessary.

I've read the other two and knew that I was going to love this one. Dugoni writes characters who are smart and quippy, building relationships between characters in just a few short lines. There are some characters - other detectives - that Tracy does not interact with much in this novel, but Dugoni is able to express the relationship they have in the short time they're in the story. Tracy's relationship with her long-term boyfriend, Dan, is also emphasized in this novel. I feel as if new readers to the series would still be able to believe the relationship between the two characters, even without all of the backstory. I consider this to be a clear indication of the author's skill.

As for the story, the main case is the cold case Tracy is working, but there's another murder case that her partner has picked up that is being worked as well. Both cases kept me interested and I was equally eager to find out "whodunnit" in each scenario. What struck me as interesting about the cold case was that all of the evidence was basically already there for Tracy - photographs, reports, interviews. However, in 1976 the evidence could not be interpreted in the same was as it can in present day, the one hindrance that the investigating deputy seemed to have. While he clearly had a grasp on what happened, he could not prove it based on his evidence. Reading along as Tracy was able to decipher the evidence he had gathered and piece together what happened to Kimi was incredibly interesting and sad.

Dugoni wrapped up the case nicely, leading the reader along with Tracy to the big reveal. One thing that Dugoni does that I love is he throws in that one last surprise. Even once the case seems wrapped up, there's one more piece of the story that Tracy figures out at the very end.

I loved this book. It has suspense, character development, and good relationships. Dugoni is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, and I will definitely continue to read this series.

The Last Good Girl Book Review

The Last Good Girl by Allison Leotta

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Blurb:

Emily Shapiro has gone missing. A freshman at a Michigan university, Emily was last seen leaving a  bar near Beta Psi, a prestigious and secretive fraternity. The main suspect is Dylan Highsmith, the son of one of the most powerful politicians in the state. At first, the only clue is pieced-together surveillance footage of Emily leaving the bar that night...and Dylan running down the street after her.

When prosecutor Anna Curtis discovers a video diary Emily kept during her first few months of college, it exposes the history Emily had with Dylan: she accused him of rape before disappearing. Anna is horrified to discover that Dylan's frat is known on campus as the "rape factory".

The case soon gets media attention and support from Title IX activists across the country, but Anna's investigation hits a wall. Anna has to find something, anything she can use to discover Emily alive. But without a body or any physical evidence, she's under threat from people who tell her to stop before she ruins the name of an innocent young man.

Inspired by real-life stories, The Last Good Girl shines a light on campus rape and the powerful emotional dynamics that affect the families of the men and women on both sides.

Review by Brittany:

I requested a copy of this book through NetGalley because the blurb intrigued me. I didn't realize that it was a part of a series at the time, but I can honestly say that my lack of background knowledge did not hinder my reading experience at all.

Being such an avid reader, I don't always read books that make me disappear into the story and itch to keep turning pages - but this one did that. From the opening chapter, this book was full of suspense and fantastic storytelling. I loved that the focus of this book was on sex crimes in college because that is a very real problem in today's society, and I think it needs to be addressed, even fictionally.

The pace of this novel was done fantastically well. The case progresses at a steady pace, and the addition of scripts from Emily's video blog and documents regarding her disciplinary suit against Dylan helped keep the reader in the loop while also keeping the plot moving. I also thought the video blog was a great touch because it helped the reader get to know Emily without her being active in the story.

Although I haven't read the other books in this series, I was still very invested in Anna's relationship with Cooper and her past relationship with Jack. The author gave enough information for me to understand the situation between all of the characters and to help me get invested in Anna's dilemma. Being invested in Anna's personal life as well as what was going on in the case to find Emily gave the book another dimension to it that kept reading.

The end of the book was a bit of a surprise, not the way I would have expected it, but it fit perfectly. I liked that the author didn't go the way I was thinking she would with the ending. Emily's story does not tie up perfectly, but it comes to enough of an ending that I felt satisfied. Anna's relationship dilemma also clears up some by the end of the book, leaving room for more development in the next novel.

I loved this book. I wish I had started reading this series from the very beginning, but the fact that I didn't definitely didn't hinder the reading experience. I definitely recommend this one!

Notable quote:

She didn't want to think about tomorrow or yesterday. She didn't want to analyze or annotate or figure anything out. She just wanted to be here, now...

The Pursuit of Pearls Book Review

The Pursuit of Pearls by Jane Thynne

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Blurb:

In the spring of 1939, the drums of war beat throughout Europe, but nowhere more ferociously than in Berlin. The film studio where Clara Vine works in churning out movies, but each day that she stays in Germany is more dangerous than the last. Spying on the private life of the Third Reich, passing secrets to contacts in the British Intelligence, falling into a passionate affair - any of these risky moves could get Clara shot. So she is wholly shaken when someone close to her is murdered instead. The victim is Lottie Franke, an aspiring costume designer and student at the prestigious Faith and Beauty finishing school that trains young women to become the wives of the Nazi elite. White the press considers Lottie's death in the Grunewald forest the act of a lone madman, Clara uncovers deeper threads, tangled lines that seem to reach into the darkest depths of the Reich - and to a precious discovery that Hitler and his ruthless cohorts would kill for.

Review by Brittany:

I have gradually become a fan of World War II fiction as I have gotten older, which is why I requested this book on NetGalley.

This book felt to me like it was saturated with details. There were so many characters and so many tiny events that were described so fully that I occasionally felt bogged down in the details and lost the thread of the story. I think that some of these details prevented the plot from moving forward at a steady pace, so that the story invariably felt like it was moving slowly.

That being said, there were certain aspects of the plot that I thoroughly enjoyed. Clara is a fantastic character with a lot of layers to her. I have not read the previous novels in this series, so I jumped in without having background about Clara. This book does a great job of essentially catching up those readers who have not read any of the previous books. The story explains how Clara came to be working for the British Intelligence and why her living in Germany is so risky. Her courage through her fear made her an admirable character to me, particularly in the scene where she is arrested and interrogated by the Gestapo. I can't imagine how scary that might be.

I also liked the character of Hedwig. Here's a girl in the Faith and Beauty school who is supportive of Hitler and is being groomed to be the perfect German wife. She simply does what she's told to do in order to achieve the best life she can have while under Hitler's command. When she inadvertently gets mixed up with those who are against Hitler, it completely throws her world into a tailspin.

I also enjoyed reading about Conrad Adler. He is an officer under Hitler who takes an interest in Clara, which is at times scary to her. There's something about his confidence and complete lack of empathy when it comes to Hitler's reign that makes him a very intriguing character and one that I would like to read more about. He's very much a "follow orders" kind of guy, a trait that Clara can barely stand about him, which makes their interactions interesting.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I think the plot could have moved along faster and, as is obvious by my review, it was mostly the characters that drove me to finish reading the book. I do recommend this book for those who already have an interest in fiction revolving around this time period.

Notable quotes:

Red Queen Book Review

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

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Blurb:

Mare Barrow's world is divided by blood - those with common, Red blood serve the Silver-blooded elite, who are gifted with superhuman abilities. Mare is a Red, scraping by as a thief in a poor, rural village, until a twist of fate throws her in front of the Silver court. Before the king, princes, and all the nobles, she discovers she has an ability of her own.

To cover up this impossibility, the king forces her to play the role of a lost Silver princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn further into the Silver world, she risks everything and uses her new position to help the Scarlet Guard - a growing Red rebellion - even as her heart tugs in an impossible direction. One wrong move can lead to her death, but in the dangerous game she plays, the only certainty is betrayal.

Review by Brittany:

For me, this book had a bit of a Hunger Games feel to it. Mare is disgusted with the way the world works and gets put into a position in which she has an opportunity to try to change things. She hones her skill set in order to be a useful member of the rebel group.

Of course, there are parts of this novel that differentiate itself, particularly the use of supernatural abilities to set characters apart. There were some really neat ideas - different types of healers, those who can manipulate elements like water and steel - and I thought this added a nice touch to the story that made it different than other books I've read in this genre.

This book does also have a bit of a love triangle, with Mare feeling torn between her feelings for both Cal and Maven. This is also pretty standard for this genre, although the focus of the novel is not on this triangle but instead on the battle between the Reds and Silvers, particularly the rebel cause.

I think my favorite part of this book was the last 25%. The ending reveals multiple twists and surprises that I didn't expect and that completely changed my perception of the story. I think there's a certain talent for an author to be able to reveal something that completely alters the tone of the novel in hindsight.

Overall, this book was just fine. It felt pretty typical of the genre, with nothing that really stood out for me too much. I know this book is kicking off a series, but despite the surprises at the end of the first book, I don't know that I'll continue reading this series.