Welcome to the March edition of my reading recaps. Ten books read this month brings the year-to-date total to 28 books, a pace that will exceed the annual target of 100 books.

More importantly, this month’s list includes two new (to me) authors – one of which I will heartily recommend (not so much on the other).

Before we get there, a huge thank you to everyone following the Pestilence serial novel. Response to the eighth chapter posted last week was record breaking and I can’t thank you enough. Your support in reading and sharing the story is much appreciated.

Books Read March 2018

Full disclosure – the links in this post are all Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of those links, I receive a small commission from Amazon.

J.T. Ellison – Based on the recommendation of a reader, I read the first of the Lt. Taylor Jackson series, All The Pretty Girls, and liked it so much that I also read the second in the series, 14. Lt. Jackson is a female lieutenant of homicide for the Nashville Metro Police. She is confident, intelligent, and her squad respects her. And she is tireless in her pursuit of criminals. As a special bonus for me, the various locations around Nashville come alive because I have been to so many of them (I spent summers growing up at my grandfather’s in Nashville). I heartily recommend Ellison to you if you enjoy good mysteries.

Shawn Grady – Unfortunately, my other new (to me) author just didn’t work. Through The Fire follows a troubled firefighter and his pursuit of an arsonist. When the bad guy is revealed, I admit to being confused as to the why and how, but I struggled more because the writing style kept disrupting me from the flow of the story. To be fair, the writer receives some solid reviews – particularly from readers of Christian literature – so take my experience with a grain of salt. Note that I notice his book – as of this writing – is available for free to download on Kindle, so feel free to give it a try as an introduction to his other novels.

Harlan Coben – A good example of differences in taste and style were the two Harlan Coben novels I read this month, Tell No One and Miracle Cure. I loved Tell No One and didn’t love Miracle Cure, so I am continuing my track record of liking half of Coben’s books. The protagonist of Tell No One, Dr. David Beck, struggles to understand the abduction and murder of his wife eight years earlier. A surprise discovery raises questions about the guilt of the man convicted for the crime – and everyone’s perception of what happened. The suspect pool is wide, including Dr. Beck himself. A quite worthwhile read.

Michael Connelly – Three books read this month – The Black Box, The Gods of Guilt, and The Burning Room. The Gods of Guilt focuses on Micky Haller (aka, The Lincoln Lawyer) and the other two follow my favorite detective, Harry Bosch. The mysteries are terrific, the characters are great, and the writing is fast paced. I admit to liking the Bosch books better than the Haller books, but they both appear in many novels together.

David Baldacci – Deliver Us From Evil follows two competing groups who become intertwined as they hunt down some of the most heinous people in the world, in this case an ex-Nazi who has moved on to human trafficking. Lots of intrigue and mystery.

Lisa Gardner – The 7th Month – Dee Dee Warren is a homicide detective for Boston PD. In her 7th month of pregnancy, she is trying to take it easy and has an opportunity to consult on a movie being filmed in Boston. Great plan until murder and intrigue invades the set. Lisa Gardner is one of my favorite writers of the dark, sinister world of serial killers, but I should note that this is a novella. I wanted several hundred pages more, but still lots of fun.

Coming up in April

Sitting beside my bed are books by Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, J.T. Ellison, Nevada Barr, Lisa Gardner, Clive Cussler, Chris Bohjalian, Ken Harmon and even Edger Allen Poe, so I look forward to sharing those books with you next month.

As always, what are you reading? I love getting ideas of books I should have on my list.

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Today’s featured image includes a photo by Roman Kraft which has been used with permission from Unsplash

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