Trick of the Dark (2010) by Val McDermid

"Barred from practice, disgraced psychiatrist Charlie Flint receives a mysterious summons to Oxford from an old professor who wants her to look into the death of her daughter's husband. But as Charlie delves deeper into the case and steps back into the arcane world of Oxford colleges, she realizes that there is much more to this crime than meets the eye."  Review by Goodreads.com

 

McDermid writes with confidence as sheincludes both homosexuals and herterosexuals in her novels as main characters.  She reflects life as it is.  I applaud her for this.  Her women characters are  independent and confident, having professional careers in their own right.

Down the Darkest Road (2012) by Tami Hoag

Once upon a time I had the perfect family. I had the perfect husband. I had the perfect children. I had the perfect life in the perfect home. And then, as in all fairy tales, evil came into our lives and destroyed us.

Four years after the unsolved disappearance of her sixteen-year-old daughter, Lauren Lawton is the only one still chasing the ghosts of her perfect Santa Barbara life. The world has given her daughter up for dead. Her husband ended his own life in the aftermath. Even Lauren's younger daughter is desperate to find what's left of the childhood she hasn't been allowed to have.

Lauren knows exactly who took her oldest child, but there is not a shred of evidence against the man. Even as he stalks her family, Lauren is powerless to stop him. The Santa Barbara police are handcuffed by the very laws they are sworn to uphold. Looking for a fresh start in a town with no memories, Lauren and her younger daughter, Leah, move to idyllic Oak Knoll. But when Lauren's suspect turns up in the same city, it feels to all the world that history is about to repeat itself. Leah Lawton will soon turn sixteen, and Oak Knoll has a cunning predator on the hunt.

Sheriff's detective Tony Mendez and his team begin to close in on the suspected killer, desperate to keep the young women of their picturesque town safe. But as the investigators sift through the murky circumstances of an increasingly disturbing case, a stunning question changes everything they thought they knew.

 Review by Goodreads, Internet, Oct 29, 2012

Fever of the bone (2009) by Val McDermid

 Fever of the Bone is the sixth novel featuring profiler Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan, this time on the trail of a serial killer who is targeting apparently unconnected young people. McDermid's skill is such that Hill, who must surely win the prize for most dysfunctional maverick investigator, engages without ever annoying, even when he is going into the mind of the monster. This is very much a story about parents and children, and both Hill's own family crises and his "will they, won't they" relationship with Jordan are expertly dovetailed into a wonderfully complex plot. McDermid is especially good at serving up a mix of hi-tech and old-fashioned coppering, as well as showing how proximity to extreme brutality can take its toll on even the toughest police officer. 

Review by Laura Wilson, The Guardian, Saturday 12 September 2009



The Retribution (2011) by Val McDermid

"Clinical psychologist Tony Hill has had a good run. He and police detective Carol Jordan have put away scores of dangerous criminals and have a clearance rate that colleagues envy or resent. But there is one serial killer who has shaped and defined their careers, a person whose evil surpasses all others: Jacko Vance, an ex-celebrity and sociopath whose brilliance and utter lack of remorse have never left Tony’s mind in the ten years Vance has been locked up. Now Jacko has broken out of prison and, with a mind even more twisted and cunning than before, he is focused on wreaking revenge on Tony and Carol for the years he has spent in prison. They don’t know when Jacko will strike, or where. All they know is that he will cause them to feel fear like they’ve never known."

Review by Goodreads Copied Oct 9, 2012

Bone Island Trilogy (2010) by Heather Graham



You don't have to be a beleiver in ghosts or the paranormal to enjoy these mysteries.  They are a little romance, a little 'bad guy', a little humour, and a lot easy to read.  They are great books to read when you don't want anything too serious.  I especially enjoy the Florida history and setting.  The author does a great job with describing the architecture and the geography - azure ocean waves and magenta sunsets.