Book Review: Identity Crisis by Jean Hackensmith

When Brian Koski is forced to resign from the police force, he goes into business as a private investigator. His first clients are Jeff and Melody Patten, who hire Brian to deal with a man who is stalking their daughter. Collin Lanaski insists that their daughter, Angela, is his own daughter, Courtney, who supposedly died in a car crash while he was deployed to the Middle East.

Identity Crisis by Jean Hackensmith is a great mystery that kept me turning the pages wondering what was really going on. This main storyline of Brian's attempt to keep Collin away from Angela, and his subsequent search for the girl once Collin actually kidnaps her, provided plenty of suspense. Brian's second big case, in which he searches for the long-lost daughter of an elderly couple, adds some variety to the novel, which was nice.

This is actually the second book in the B.K. Investigations series, but it definitely stands alone. I have not read the first book, which is evidently about the case that forces Brian to resign at the start of this novel. But there was enough background information that I didn't feel like I missed anything.

Just about all of the characters are likeable and genuine. The truth stayed hidden for me for a long time. There was a bit of action, but mostly it's the suspense that kept me going. Overall, it was an engaging, suspenseful novel that kept my attention throughout and made me care about the characters.

My Rating: 3.5/5

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This review was written based on a copy of Identity Crisis that I received from Pump Up Your Book in exchange for an honest review. This review includes Amazon Affiliate links.

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Banned Books Week: Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park

This is the end of Banned Books Week and unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of time to write about banned books this year. But I did want to include at least one post about it, so today I wanted to share one of the book series that it seems most people are surprised to find on the list: Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park.

According to Wikipedia:
The Junie B. Jones series came in at #71 on the American Library Association's list of the Top 100 Banned or Challenged Books from 2000-2009. Reasons cited are poor social values taught by the books and Junie B. Jones not being considered a good role model due to her mouthiness and bad spelling/grammar. This is an interesting example of a banned book. Many times there are serious, controversial topics featured in books that are challenged. Things like homosexuality, drugs, vulgar language, etc. You can actually understand why people may not want their children to read those books, and why they may challenge their inclusion in school libra…

Book Review: No Story to Tell by KJ Steele

Victoria has been put down since the day she was born. First by her parents who were disappointed that she survived while her twin brother died. Then by her verbally abusive husband and his low-life friends. But soon an intriguing artist named Elliott arrives in town and starts encouraging Victoria to follow her dream of opening her own dance studio. She also begins to receive phone calls from a mysterious someone who gets her to open up about her past and face her true feelings.

In No Story to Tell, KJ Steele has captured the small-town atmosphere and brought these characters to life. From the victimized Victoria, to her drunk and obnoxious husband Bobby and his drunk and obnoxious friends, to all the side characters who you'd expect to encounter in a town like this ~ all are so realistic in both their actions and their voices. She has written a compelling story of an abused woman who thinks she is trapped in this loveless, miserable existence. But then she finds a spark of hope…

Book Review: I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Title: I See You
Author: Clare Mackintosh
Genre: thriller
Published: February 21, 2017
Format: ebook (NetGalley)
Source: publisher
Buy on Amazon(affiliate link)

Have you ever felt like someone was watching you? You will after reading Clare Mackintosh's latest release I See You. Told from the perspectives of two women, one who appears to be targeted by a criminal and the other who is the police officer working the case, this psychological thriller will have you looking over your own shoulder by the end.

Zoe is a typical working mother who takes the Underground through London to her office every day. Like most commuters, she has a routine that she follows every day, leaving home at the same time, sitting in the same train car, taking the same route to work from the station. It's habit. But she starts to realize this may not be a good idea after seeing her own photo in an advertisement in the newspaper. Another woman who appears in the advertisement is murdered and Zoe starts to ge…

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