J.D. Robb discussion

Nominations are now being accepted for our October 2020 Book of the Month. Please review the Guidelines below prior to making your nomination.

Nominations open August 18-23
Poll open August 24-29

Please note: You may nominate any book from the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller genre or from any one of the many sub genres, with the exception of books by J.D. Robb and Nora Roberts. We explore Robb's In Death series in Buddy Reads & other discussions in this group. And we read & discuss Nora Roberts books with our sister group, Nora Roberts Groupies. We encourage you to join the discussions any time.

Monthly Book Nomination Guidelines:

1-Each member may nominate 2 books per month. Please include a link to the book that you nominate.
2-All books must have been released at least 4 months prior to any nomination.
3-We respectfully ask that you only nominate books that you are planning to read and discuss with this group.
4-Nominated books must be from the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller genres or one of the many sub genres.
5-Nominated books must be the first book in a series unless the Robb group has previously read the preceding books.
6-J.D. Robb and Nora Robert books are not eligible for nomination. We invite you to join us as we explore the In Death series books in our In Death Buddy Reads and enjoy discussing the Nora Roberts titles in our sister group, Nora Roberts Groupies.
7-If an issue arises in which the winning book is disqualified, the book having received the 2nd most votes in our poll will become our Book of the Month.

Long Bright River by Liz Moore

Two sisters travel the same streets,though their lives couldn't be more different.
Then one of them goes missing.

In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don't speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling.

Then Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey's district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit--and her sister--before it's too late.

Alternating its present-day mystery with the story of the sisters' childhood and adolescence, Long Bright River is at once heart-pounding and heart-wrenching: a gripping suspense novel that is also a moving story of sisters, addiction, and the formidable ties that persist between place, family, and fate.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia


NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An isolated mansion. A chillingly charismatic aristocrat. And a brave socialite drawn to expose their treacherous secrets.

After receiving a frantic letter from her newlywed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find - her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.

Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin


Description
Claire is only seven years old when her college-age sister, Alison, disappears on the last night of their family vacation at a resort on the Caribbean island of Saint X. Several days later, Alison’s body is found in a remote spot on a nearby cay, and two local men – employees at the resort - are arrested. But the evidence is slim, the timeline against it, and the men are soon released. The story turns into national tabloid news, a lurid mystery that will go unsolved. For Claire and her parents, there is only the return home to broken lives.

Years later, Claire is living and working in New York City when a brief but fateful encounter brings her together with Clive Richardson, one of the men originally suspected of murdering her sister. It is a moment that sets Claire on an obsessive pursuit of the truth - not only to find out what happened the night of Alison’s death but also to answer the elusive question: Who exactly was her sister? At seven, Claire had been barely old enough to know her: a beautiful, changeable, provocative girl of eighteen at a turbulent moment of identity formation.

As Claire doggedly shadows Clive, hoping to gain his trust, waiting for the slip that will reveal the truth, an unlikely attachment develops between them, two people whose lives were forever marked by the same tragedy.

You Can't Catch Me by Catherine McKenzie


Description
When the game is deception, nothing is as it seems in this novel of cunning psychological suspense by the #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of I’ll Never Tell.

Do you want to play a game?

Twelve years ago Jessica Williams escaped a cult. Thanks to the private detective who rescued her, she reintegrated into society, endured an uncomfortable notoriety, and tried to put it all behind her. Then, at an airport bar, Jessica meets a woman with an identical name and birth date. It appears to be just an odd coincidence—until a week later, when Jessica finds her bank account drained and her personal information stolen.

Following a trail of the grifter’s victims, each with the same name, Jessica gathers players—one by one—for her own game. According to her plan, they’ll set a trap and wait for the impostor to strike again. But plans can go awry, and trust can fray, and as Jessica tries to escape the shadows of her childhood, the risks are greater than she imagined. Now, confronting the casualties of her past, Jessica can’t help but wonder…

Who will pay the price?

Sandra ~ ♥ Cross My Heart ♥ wrote: "Long Bright River by Liz Moore

Two sisters travel the same streets,though their lives couldn't be more different.
Then one of..."

I second the nomination of this book! Excellent story with so many topics to discuss.

I nominate:

Nine Lives by Tom Barber Sam Archer #1
Genres: Suspense, Mystery > Crime, Thriller > Mystery Thriller & Spy Thriller

It’s New Year’s Eve. A major terrorist cell is planning a series of attacks across London over the next forty-eight hours. The government has surveillance on the group, a man undercover, and prepare to move in, to take out the terrorists before they can strike. But they lose contact with their inside man. And the cell vanishes into thin air, dispersing into the streets, armed and intent on completing their assault on London. The best Counter-Terrorist teams in the country are told to take them down before it's too late.

Nine terrorists.

Nine lives.

The Armed Response Unit is one of these teams. Efficient and ruthless, the task force is ordered to locate the leader of the cell. As they hunt him down, they begin to realise that this is far bigger than any of them could ever have imagined. Bombings, rocket attacks, betrayal and a series of unexpected and shocking twists leave the ARU fighting to stay alive.

There's Archer, the youngest member of the team, keen to prove himself and justify his spot on the task force. His best friend, Chalky, who is forced to fight both the terrorists and his own demons. Porter, Deakins and Fox, tough and experienced men who’ve never dealt with anything of this magnitude. And Mac, their sergeant, who must make the quickest of decisions and lead his men against the invisible enemy.

As events unfold, other people are drawn into the danger. The Prime Minister, desperately trying to find a solution and protect the capital. A mysterious female Mossad agent, who appears out of nowhere and joins the fight against the cell. Two Special Agents from the DEA, one of whom was a member of the SEAL team that stormed Osama Bin Laden’s compound and who for some reason is struggling with the memory. And the vicious, powerful leader of a Middle Eastern drug cartel, who operates in the shadows and is somehow connected to the terrorists.

With crowds all over London celebrating the New Year, and with nine terrorists somewhere amongst them, the Armed Response Unit is faced with the most dangerous night of their lives. As the savage, shocking plans of the enemy are fully revealed, the ARU officers are faced with the ultimate question.
How many times can a man cheat Death before Death evens the score?

___________________________________

The Storyteller of Inis Mór: Could a Legend Save his Life? by O'Raleigh Brian
now: Seanachai: The Storyteller of Inis Mor
Genres: Mystery & Cultural > Ireland

When the main character - 38 year old Conner O’Rourke - returns to Ireland after an absence of 30 years he's running from his past. His advertising agency in Australia is in difficulties, his marriage is falling apart and he’s hearing poetic voices in his mind telling him to return to Inis Mór. His Irish grandmother, whom he hasn’t spoken to in years, has contacted him saying she's critically ill and must speak with him before she dies. When he arrives on Inis Mór - a wild, windswept, rocky little outcrop some 30 miles off the West Coast of Ireland - she has already died, leaving him a cottage and a dilapidated old sailing boat built by his grand-father.
A mysterious old seaman appears offering to help him rebuild the boat and as they work together the old man tells Conner stories of Ireland, stories of courage, purpose and passion, stories that could change Conner's life forever.

Oops! I mistakenly left a nom off the poll when I hurriedly set it up this morning! My apologies to Jonetta for leaving one of her noms - You Can't Catch Me - off the original poll. I have corrected the poll by adding this intriguing title. If you have already voted & want to change your vote, you can do so by following directions at bottom of poll post. We have a great list of titles to choose from this month! I'd like to read them all!