Darkness First by James Hayman

When a doctor reaches out to try to help an abused woman, the woman ends up dead and the doctor severely injured.   Suspicion surrounds the doctor when a bag of Oxy is found in her pocket.  Detectives Maggie Savage and Michael McCabe know the killers name, but soon learn that is leading them nowhere, and the murdered woman’s young sister is in grave danger.

Darkness First does an amazing job of drawing the reader deep into the story. With its shifting locations and characters, the story is progresses very meticulously.  There is the perfect balance of narration and dialog, and the characters are well-developed and interesting. This mystery/police procedural was an all-around great read, and I highly recommend it for fans of this genre.

I received a review copy of this book from Witness Impulse in return for an honest and fair review.

If You Were Me and Lived In Norway by Carole P. Roman

Carole P. Roman's If You Were Me series travels this time to "The Land of the Midnight Sun", Norway.  As her previous books in this series,she gives bits of information about the country that would be most
interesting to children.  It covers places you would go, activities you would participate in, foods you would eat, and basic information about daily life in Norway.

I am always so impressed with these books. Text appears on one page with a full page illustration on the facing page. The illustrations are colorful and detailed.  This is an excellent introduction for children to the world around us and cultures that are different from ours. I highly recommend the entire series.

Robert B Parker's Damned if You Do by Michael Brandman

I enjoyed very much this latest Jesse Stone book. The author, Michael Brandman, is carrying forward the late Robert B Parker's series.   I have not read all of books in the original Stone series, but the character in this book was exactly as I expected him to be. His moods, actions, and interactions with the characters are all as I envisioned Jesse to be.  The only problem I had was the portrayal of Jesse as a cat person instead of a dog person!  

 I especially enjoyed the interaction with Jesse and his friend in the nursing home and it was absolutely in character for Jesse. Although a little different, it is still a great addition to the story of Jesse Stone. I hope CBS will pick up this book and make another Tom Sellick Jesse Stone movie!