Ransom

 Ransom written by Daniel Silva is the newest of the Gabriel Alon series. 

I will just say that for those who have been reading Daniel Silva's Gabriel Alon series all these years, you will enjoy the suspense, the convoluted storyline and characters, just like you always to do.  But I think it is getting more difficult to keep the series going as Silva tries to keep the mysteries current with modern politics.  

It is as always a fascinating read, keeping the reader turning pages to see how the plot will develop. Trying to imagine how current leaders are interacting and creating scenes of conflict between major nations in current times was disturbing and I do not want to think about someone reading Silva's book and use the ideas he has imagined here to play out real life politics tomorrow.  Very scary thought!!!

The Summer Guests

 I thought Tess Gerritsen hit it out of the park with the first book in this new series, The Spy Club.  She has only added depth with this new novel, The Summer Guests.  This is The Martini Club sereis, featuring Maggie Bird and her ex-CIA friends. 

Maggie has retired and moved to Purity, Maine to live out the rest of her life in obscurity along with a few other ex-operatives.  They gather together for a pot luck dinner with martinis under the cover of a book group. But when murder comes to Purity it is hard for them to stay away.

Jo Thibodeau is the new young acting police chief.  The cases that are presenting themselves are more than a small town police force is prepared to handle. So slowly Jo is getting comfortable accepting assistance from the Maggie and her friends.

This time a young girl has disappeared in her purple swimsuit with her goggles. She, and her mother, are visiting the summer home of her new step father and his family.  While everyone seems to have an alibi for the time of the disappearance, her mother will not sit by and wait for the police to find her daughter. An excellent swimmer it is hard to believe she may have drown in the lake behind the house.

 Jo is trying to go through proper channels and procedures to find the girl,  Maggie and her friends use their special talents to investigate and help find out how a crime committed years ago ties into the situation in current day.

The relationships between summer people and year round home owners is strained. There seem to many secrets that these long time residents know and will not share. These must be revealed before any answers will surface.

My Sister is Going to Kill Me

Nina Simon, it turns out, writes from experience. She has a sister and they did a Grand Canyon trip together. 

Definitely a fun book to read, especially if you have a sister! This was an entertaining mystery that covered a lot of ground.  Hiking down into the Grand Canyon, whitewater rafting and camping out under the stars. That is quite a trip for two sisters with very different interests. 

Then layered onto that is the mystery aspects of the story with a group of campers who are all connected to a lifestyle company that is about to launch a new innovative product.  This is a chance for the board of directors to bond with thee investors and announce the new product with an influencer along for the ride. 

When things get sticky and uncomfortable, the sisters start to bond and when the CEO of the company turns up dead, those sisters really try to patch their differences and work together. There are obstacles along te way to test them and a murderer to find.  All making for a fun storyline.