Some people consider blogging envy to be the state which exists when Blogger A sees Blogger B receiving an opportunity which Blogger A wanted but did not get. Not always.  In my house blogging envy is when I see other bloggers keeping up to date with their reviews!  Okay I jest (honest) but a combination of lockdown fatigue, no laptop for six weeks and my general scattyness does mean that I have missed sharing my thoughts on quite a few titles.

In a bid to get caught up I thought I would do some shorter reviews, just share the blurb and my thoughts – rather than provide my usual oversight on some of the themes and threads before capturing my overall thoughts on a book.  Still with me?  Great.  Books I didn’t enjoy don’t appear on the blog so I don’t want you to presume I am doing shorter reviews because I was underwhelmed or unhappy…that’s not how we roll here.

Into The Fire (An Orphan X Thriller) – Gregg Hurwitz

Evan Smoak – former government assassin, ‘Orphan X’, turned white knight of last resort – is planning on hanging up his gun.

Then he gets one last call.

Max Merriweather has lost his wife, home and career. Now it looks like he’s going to lose his life. A murdered cousin has left him a package and a team of assassins on his trail . . .

Nothing Evan can’t handle.

If it weren’t for the fact he’s carrying a brutal concussion that’s made him vulnerable. Or that the simple job of keeping Max safe quickly escalated into a mission unlike anything he’s ever encountered.

But as Evan’s problems mount just one thing is clear: he is now in the most dangerous position of his life

I will start with a Five Star Read.  When I was doing my 6-hour daily commute to work a few years back I hit the audiobooks pretty hard. One of the gems I discovered was the Orphan-X series by Gregg Hurwitz.  I hung onto every word of that first book and quickly downloaded all the others available at the time – now I patiently wait for news of the next instalment.

Evan Smoak was an assassin for the US Government, part of the “Orphan” programme which recruited orphans who were trained as dispensible killers.  Smoak left that world behind and went into hiding with a large bank balance to support his off the radar lifestyle.  He tries to do some good and put his skills to use, he helps people in desperate situations and when he has solved their problem he asks them to find someone else who needs his help.

The books have all been terrific to read and Into The Fire may just be my favourite. Smoak is moving further away from the life he once knew and watching him try to adapt to a more mundane lifestyle (dating, residents association meetings, mentoring a young hacker etc) while also plotting to bump off some bad guys was wholly absorbing.

I am a huge fan of this series and encourage you to seek them out if action heroes are your thing.

Last Light – Helen Phifer

When a young woman’s body found hanging upside-down from a crucifix in an abandoned church, Detective Lucy Harwin is plunged into a case that will test her to her very limits.

Before Lucy even has time to get started, another body is found. And this time it’s someone Lucy and her team consider one of their own; the chief’s mother. Her body too is hanging upside-down, so Lucy fears there’s a serial killer stalking the streets of her small coastal town.

Lucy knows the chief is a good man. She trusts him, but can’t pin down his alibi. Just as she’s beginning to suspect the worst, she pushes for a test on some animal hairs, and uncovers a link to an old unsolved murder.

Lucy knows she’s getting close, and works around the clock to catch this killer before he strikes again. But then the trail leads her to the church where her teenage daughter volunteers. Can Lucy prevent a tragedy that will tear her world apart again?

After reading Last Light I discovered that Helen Phifer had penned several horror stories which explained why a police procedrual had some pretty brutal murder scenes. The story spends time with the investigating officer (Lucy Harwin) and we also get an insight into the killer as the narrative jumps back to the killer’s childhood and we get to see how they grow into the fully fledged murderer that Lucy needs to track down.

The most intruging element of Last Light was that I felt nobody was safe in this story. Possibly this is another consequnce of the author’s horror writing? I feel the best horror tales can make anyone a victim at any time. Lucy and her colleagues felt at risk during this story, too many police stories have untouchable heroes but Last Light didn’t give that feeling and the story benefits from the feeling of peril.

This was a pretty decent read, the payoff comes at the end when the various threads come together but I felt it took me a while to reach that point.  Currently on Kindle for under £2 which makes it cheaper than a latte – buy the book not the coffee.

Golden in Death – J.D. Robb

‘Doctor Kent Abner began the day of his death comfortable and content’

When Kent Abner – baby doctor, model husband and father, good neighbour – is found dead in his town house in the West Village, Detective Eve Dallas and her team have a real mystery on their hands. Who would want to kill such a good man? They know how, where and when he was killed but why did someone want him dead?

Then a second victim is discovered and as Spring arrives in New York City, Eve finds herself in a race against time to track down a serial killer with a motive she can’t fathom and a weapon of choice which could wipe out half of Manhattan.

The 50th Eve Dallas thriller. FIFTY. By my reckoning I have read 47 of them and I have two of the missing books in my TBR pile.  It is fair to say I am a big fan of this series. We have seen Eve Dallas grow from kickass socially awkward New York cop into a kickass socially awkward New York Cop who is surrounded by loads of great supporting characters.  Watching Dallas grow and her character evolve has been an absolute joy for me. As a reader, finding a character you love is always special – when that character appears in 2 or 3 new books each year – well that’s icing on the cake.

For the 50th story in the series (Golden for 50) I was expecting some huge development in Eve’s personal life – a massive shift in the dyamic of the books – but it didn’t arrive. We began and ended book 50 in much the same position. Now that doesn’t mean J.D Robb may not come back to events in this book and spin them into something new (it has happened in the past with the infamous Icove case) but it didn’t have that feel.  Instead we get a solid story with Dallas and Peabody trying to prevent deadly chemicals being released into the city.

There are a couple of deaths – witnessed by the reader so we know what is about to happen. It gives Dallas the opportunity to establish a link between victims, it seems a long shot when they begin to interview suspects, however, the arrogance of one of the suspects gives her cause to dig deeper. I always enjoy watching Dallas and Peabody working a case, turning their attention to characters that don’t behave as they would expect and digging deep into their lives to find the gaps in their alibi.

The humour, the thrills and the fun of the In Death series were very much present. As a fan of these stories I was delighted to have the opportunity to revisit my favourite characters. Trying to convert new readers to a series with 50 volumes may seem a daunting prospect, this isn’t the book which would draw in a new reader and have them hooked but it is a damned fine addition to a terrific collection.