Today I am reviewing Cane and Abe by James Grippando for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

About the book (from the publisher): Unbelievable was the word for her. Samantha Vine was unbelievably beautiful. It was unbelievable that she’d married me. It was even more unbelievable that she was gone…

Samantha died too soon. Abe Beckham’s new wife has helped him through the loss, but some say it was a step back for Abe to marry Angelina, a love from his past. Abe doesn’t want to hear it, and he’s even managed to remain a star prosecutor at the Miami State Attorney’s Office through his ups and downs.

Then everything goes wrong. A woman’s body is discovered dumped in the Everglades, and Abe is called upon to monitor the investigation. The FBI is tracking a killer in South Florida they call “Cutter” because his brutal methods hark back to Florida’s dark past, when machete-wielding men cut sugarcane by hand in the blazing sun.

When Angelina goes missing, the respected attorney finds himself under fire. Suspicion surrounds him. His closet friends, family, professional colleagues, and the media no longer trust his motives. Was Angelina right? Was their marriage not what they’d hoped for because he loved Samantha too much? Or was there another woman…and a husband with a dark side that simply wanted his new wife gone?

My review: The blurb above doesn’t really paint an accurate picture of what this book is about. There is a new wife, and a deceased wife, yes. And the second wife does go missing. But the mystery surrounding the serial killer, the FBI agent who doggedly pursues both the serial killer and Abe, the methods used in the ongoing investigation, both by Abe and the FBI, are a more accurate reflection of the bulk of the plot of Cain and Abe.

Here is my problem with the book. For much of the story, I was fairly engrossed in the plot, in the history of sugarcane cutting in South Florida, the battle between Abe and the FBI Agent who seemed to have Abe in her sights, in the author’s clear understanding of the law and the way prosecutors work. It was fairly compelling. Some things, like the disappearance of Angelina, the second wife, I didn’t take all that seriously because that particular plot device didn’t seem to ring true, given what I had read so far.

Then, right toward the end of the book, Grippando threw in a plot twist that made absolutely no sense to me. It was gratuitous, almost as if he lost his way toward the end of the novel and decided to go for something else. And another twist, right at the end of the novel, caused me to curse out loud. Ask my husband. I was not a happy camper.

I felt like I had been duped and not in a good way and I don’t like that. Listen: every novel, every mystery involves manipulation; manipulation of the plot, of the clues, of the characters – all done to further suspense. I get it. I usually love it. But it has to make sense. It has to be supported by everything the author has put in place. All that we’ve learned about a character or characters has to lead to a conclusion that makes sense based on what we’ve learned throughout the course of the novel. If the author hasn’t done enough to support that plot twist, that new realization, it all falls flat.

Hey, I love being shocked and surprised just as much as the next person. But only if I can go back through the novel and see all the little clues that perhaps I missed or didn’t realize were that important at the time, but all of which, in the end, made the plot twist make sense.

I’m calling this the “Gone Girl Syndrome.” It’s calculated. It’s been called daring. I am not a fan of Gone Girl. I’ve written about it here on this blog. I am not a fan of the purely calculated, and in the end, heartless plot device. It isn’t clever. It just leaves me very ticked off, and I feel like I’ve wasted hours and hours that I’ll never get back.

Clever solely for the sake of clever has no lasting appeal. It has no heart.

Anyway, if you liked Gone Girl, you might very well enjoy this novel. Grippando writes well. Unfortunately, the final pages of Cain and Abe  left me feeling very unsatisfied. Up until then? I liked it.

About the author: James Grippando is a New York Times  bestselling author whose novels are enjoyed worldwide in twenty-six languages. Grippando was a trial lawyer for twelve years before the publication of his first novel in 1994 (The Pardon) and he is now counsel at one of the nation’s leading law firms. He lives and writes in South Florida.

If you are interested in exploring this mystery, leave a comment on this post and you will be entered to win a copy of Cain and Abe. I’ll pick a winner on Friday evening.

New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page.

Happy Tuesday.

Today I am reviewing two books by author T. E. Woods for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

About the books – The Red Hot Fix: A little more than a year after The Fixer killings, Detective Mort Grant once again has his hands full. In the last four months, seven men have been murdered in seedy pay-by-the-hour motels: first strangled, then tied with rope and set on a bed of crushed mothballs, with a red lipstick kiss planted on their foreheads. Speculation abounds that the killer is a prostitute who’s turning tricks into dead men. The press has taken to calling her “Trixie.”

As Mort follows scant leads on the case, he can’t help but feel continued guilt over his involvement with The Fixer. Though the public holds her up as a folk hero, a vigilante who seeks justice when the system fails, Mort cannot shake the fact that serious crimes have been committed. And though legend says she has vanished, Mort knows exactly where The Fixer is – and he’s conspiring to keep her hidden.

As Trixie strikes again, Mort suddenly finds himself and his family in the crosshairs. Because these new murders are not random, and their perpetrator is hell-bent on luring Mort into a sick and twisted game. If he’s not careful, he’s going to need Fixing.

The Unforgivable Fix: Detective Mort Grant has finally decided to sell. The home where he and his late wife raised two kids feels too large and too full of old memories. His son is married and raising a family of his own, and despite efforts to find her, Mort has lost touch with his wayward daughter. That is, until the day she walks back into her childhood home and begs for his help.

In the last four years, Allie Grant has been the lover – and confidante, confessor, and counselor – of one of the world’s most powerful and deadly men. But a sudden, rash move has put Allie in the crosshairs of a ruthless Russian crime lord. Mort knows of only one place Allie will be safe: with the Fixer.

As a hired desperado, The Fixer has killed twenty-three people – and Mort was complicit with her escape from the law. She has built an impregnable house, stocked it with state-of-the-art gear, armed it to the teeth, and locked herself away from the world. But even The Fixer may not be able to get justice for Allie when real evil comes knocking.

My Review: These two books are part of a Justice Series by T. E. Woods. I reviewed the first novel in the series, The Fixer, here. All three novels center around Mort Grant, who is a detective in the Seattle Police Department, and Lydia, a psychologist, as well as Mort’s colleagues, his son Robbie and his daughter Allie. I don’t want to give away anything by telling you who The Fixer is, but the relationship between Mort and The Fixer is complicated and fraught with feelings of guilt.

In both of these novels, the characters established in The Fixer reappear. We come to know more about them as more of their history is revealed. Both novels have plots that are complex and, ultimately, riveting. T. E. Woods knows how to use pacing to create tension, layering more and more intrigue until the final moments of the book provide a resolution.

What’s intriguing about this series is that the main characters are still battling their own demons on the final pages and one knows that the battle will continue in the next book in the series. And, of course, the most intriguing thing about the series is the idea of vigilante justice. Who of us hasn’t thought about that? It’s what routinely happened in old Western movies. Someone had to take the law in his/her hands in order to stop a very bad guy from hurting any more people. In this series, we have the modern-day version of the lone gunfighter and you just might find yourself cheering The Fixer on, despite whatever moral code you live by.

These can be read as stand-alone novels, but it’s awfully fun to read them in order. They are not available as hardcover/paperback books, but instead, are available as eBooks on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. They are only $2.99 each. That’s a great deal! I’m hoping that as these novels gain an audience, they can also be published in three-dimensional form. They deserve to be available in both forms. I think you’ll really like these books.

About the author: T. E. Woods is as eager as her fans to return to the thrilling world of the Justice series. She’s busy writing the next installment and is developing a new series based in Madison, Wisconsin.

The tour will include a Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25 Gift Card to the eBook retailer of the winner’s choice as well as a copy of The Unforgivable Fix. Here’s how to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Wednesday.