Abandoned – Cody McFadyen

Abandoned (A Thriller) Abandoned  is the fourth book in the Smokey Barrett series by Cody McFadyen and in my opinion it may be his best! Smokey is an FBI agent and leader of the LA branch of the  National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC). They hunt down the worst men and women who murder men, women and children and serial rapists too.  Smokey is also a survivor.  She lives with the scars on her face, left after a killer broke into her house and killed her husband Matt and daughter Alexa.  The previous books, Shadow Man, The Face of Death, and The Dark Side have all been outstanding. I thoroughly enjoy McFadyen’s writing and the characters that live in these books. These characters include  members of Smoky’s team,  Callie Thorne, Alan Washington, James Giron, and Leo Carnes, who plays a big role in this book.  Smokey’s adopted daughter Bonnie, who is also a survivor, having been tied to her dead mother for three days, and Tommy,  Smoky’s new husband, all combine to make the novels  extend far beyond the chase of a killer. MaFadyen’s first book, Shadow Man was a particular favorite and one of the best debut novels I have ever read. Read More

Forty Words For Sorrow – Giles Blunt

Forty Words for Sorrow - Giles Blunt

Forty Words for Sorrow – Giles Blunt

Forty Words for Sorrow is the first Giles Blunt book I’ve read.  It is also the first book in the John Cardinal series. Set in Algonquin Bay Canada, John Cardinal is a former Toronto police officer now back on the force in his hometown. He is a former homicide detective who had been transfered out of the homicide division after he spent too much time on two missing children cases Katie Pine and Billy LaBelle. When the mutilated body of Katie Pine is discovered in a block of ice in an abandoned mine shaft, Cardinal is transfered back to homicide and sets out to find the serial killer. Read More