Friday 8 October 2021

Read in 2021 - 12, 14: Chimera; Cause to Kill

Before and after "St Kilda Fever", which I read as a paperback, I read two ebooks which (as usual) I had found some time ago for free at Amazon's kindle shop.


# 12: Chimera (A Kate Redman Mystery)

by Celina Grace

A decomposed body is found in an abandoned cottage. A celebrity dies of a heroin overdose. An unusual series of robberies is keeping the police of Abbeyford on their toes. Are the cases connected?

DS Kate Redman is investigating, but she has her plate full with other matters as well. She is newly single, worries about her upcoming inspector exams and nearly falls out for good with one of her closest friends.

I found the interweaving cases and personal issues complex enough to keep me interested without being overwhelming.

This being the 5th book in the series wasn't a problem; I read #1 back in 2017 (you can find my review here, if you are interested) but didn't really remember it until I searched my own blog in the course of writing up this review. 


# 14: Cause to Kill (An Avery Black Mystery)

by Blake Pierce

A rather dark read, the chapters switch perspective between the killer and Avery Black, a complicated character not all that likeable (at least not for me).

Before she joined the police force, Avery worked for the opposite site: as a criminal defense attorney, it was her job to make sure her clients got away with murder - literally.

One case left her so shattered that it changed her life completely and permanently, and now she is chasing a serial killer who embalms his victims and places them very visibly in public spots as if he were staging them like mannequins.

Her past and present lives keep overlapping, and she has a hard time with her colleagues and superiors, her family and the public.

The solution to it all is not straightforward, but in the end things turn out almost too much peace, love and harmony to be credible. Still, it made for an engaging read, although I won't go actively looking for more of the series (this was the first book).

4 comments:

  1. You know, I have a Nook, and there are loads of free books there just like with a Kindle. But I never seem to want to read them. Between my book club selections and the books I've actually heard of and want to read, there's no time left for them. It's too bad, because I've spent a lot of money on books over the years (both printed and e-reader).

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    1. When I first got my Kindle (it was a birthday present in 2012 or 2013, I think), I went on a veritable downloading spree and filled it with about 70 or 80 books in the space of a few weeks. Some of those free ebooks have proven to be rare gems, others less so, and the majority has kept me entertained during my train trips but not left a long-lasting impression.

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  2. These both sound good, especially for free reads. I have an older paperwhite Kindle and I love it because it seems to be easier on my eyes. It's wonderful to be able to adjust the font size to whatever you can read best. I used to read a lot of paperbacks but these days they all seem to be in a font too small for my older eyes to read!

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    1. The adjustable font and the background without backlight are very good for my eyes; before my operations, I would not have been able to read without those advantages of my Kindle. Mine is still the first model, that can‘t do anything but store and present books - perfectly alright for me, because for anything else, I have my phone and my pad.

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