KILLER ON THE MOORS a gripping crime thriller full of twists (Detective Joanna Piercy Murder Mysteries Book 1) by PRISCILLA MASTERS

They find a woman dead.  Was it murder or death by natural causes?

Joffe Books let me read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can get a copy now.

A female cop gets on the case but it takes lots of twists and turns and money and drugs to wade through.

She doesn't give up though.  There are a lot of suspects.  Even the coroner can't figure out how she died.  But give the cop time and she'll nail it. She even figured out how the drugs were bringing brought in.

It was an interesting tale.  The ending is good.

Blood on the Rocks by Priscilla Masters

Joanna is very pregnant but she's still a cop.  She's insulted when they put her in charge of finding an old missing man with dementia.  She thinks it's just busy work but it's more complicated than that...

Severn House and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published August 1st.

It seems the man has disappeared.  She questions the help trying to figure out how he got out the locked doors.  After all, the doors were all locked on the inside in the morning.  As an aside she finds he was upset because his teddy bear was missing.  Did he go out to look for it and get lost?  Everyone is looking for him but no one is finding him.  Then she wonders if he was abducted.  While she's worrying about the dementia patient, there is someone planning her demise...

A recent prisoner who was released is planning how to get even.  She's going to use the man as bait.

The man's bear was valuable and it was stolen for the money they could get out of it.  The lost man has been hid but they are afraid of the woman prisoner and agree to give him to her.

Will Joanna fall for the trap that's being set?  I'm afraid so.

Crooked Street: A Joanna Piercy police procedural by Priscilla Masters

When Jadon Grover goes missing, their first thoughts are that he may have had a girlfriend or he may have just ditched his marriage.  His wife of two years insists he's the perfect husband.  He always lets her know when he'll be home, doesn't have a romantic interest besides her and he has a regular job.  The first clue they get that something might be wrong is when they call his place of employment and find out he doesn't work there...

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published February 1st.

The author spends a lot of time on her characters.  You learn their likes and dislikes, about their relationships and more.  She's almost too wordy for me.  The investigation goes slow, they revisit their witnesses and they do an extensive body search but with no luck.  It isn't until the last 25% of the book that the story actually moves on and gets into the heart of the matter.  I think a bit less about the characters and more about the crime would be better a mix for me.  Everyone's interests are different.

Joanna is very anxious to complete this case.  She figures Jadon is dead by this time but she has no idea where the body has been stashed.  She's also trying to get pregnant and trying not to be upset as her husband's parents (who don't like her) are moving in the area or that his daughter is coming to visit more frequently.  All those personal problems don't go well with investigations.  It's only when another body shows up from the same finance company that they begin to put the crime together.  It had to be someone they met while doing collections from the borrowers.  But who?

This story is written well, moves along slowly but smoothly and Joanna persists until she solves it.  She's also just found out she is pregnant.  It will be interesting to see what develops in the next book of this series.

Dangerous Minds by Priscilla Masters

Claire is a psychiatrist.  She became one to help people.  She enjoys the challenges and the variety, and likes people in general.  But she doesn't like some of her patients...

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published June 15th.

Our minds are wondrous.  There are compartments, pathways, and ideas all stored in our minds.  Trying to help someone straighten out the path they are walking is hard to do.  Especially when one of your patients scares you.  Claire knows enough to know he's dangerous, but she can't prove anything.  She finally sets him free so she doesn't have to deal with him.  Then he invites her to his wedding.

It gets creepier when the invitation was left at her house, not her office.  How does he know where she lives and how did he get her home phone number?  Just what does he want? Then she finds out he's manipulating her other patients.  Who in the office is giving him enough information he knows what buttons to push?  He also knows her boyfriend has moved out.  Is she in danger?

She's afraid he's going to kill his new pregnant wife and her parents to get the lottery money they won but they won't listen to her and neither will anyone else.  There's nothing to be done since there is no proof of the incidents in the past.  Maybe he was just telling her stories and all the tragedies in the past were natural events.  But what if they weren't?

This story has a very unusual ending.  Claire was shocked and so was I.  I enjoyed the insights shared by the doctor and the ending was ironic but appropriate.  I'll remember this one for a while.

Recalled to Death: A Martha Gunn Police Procedural by Priscilla Masters

There's a dead man in the basement of an abandoned building that is open to visitors.  He looks homeless and is dirty as most are.  The only unusual thing about him is that his throat has been cut...

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 1st.

The man is a mystery man.  He has no ID on him and nothing that gives any clues on who he might be.  Every place he's been, he's maintained a low profile and not stayed too long.  No one ever knew his name.  He's made a few cryptic remarks but they don't make sense.  Like saying he already died once?  The police are having an awful time trying to identify him.  How are they going to find their killer?

This police procedural takes you through the painstaking process of detecting with very little information to go on.  They brainstorm, try anything they can, and keep hunting throughout the story.  When they get a piece of information about him, doors begin to open.  They are pretty sure they know who the killer is.  But how to prove it?

Martha is very good with a bluff.  It takes all her skills to break this case open.  And she's still interested in Alex Randall.  However, he's still married.  I think that might change in future books in this series.  I'll just have to keep reading and see.