Fish Out of Water by Katie Ruggle
City girl blackmails
grumpy hermit to help her
track down her sister.
Romance .... 311 pages .... 3/5 stars.
(Some plotting inconsistencies; and while I liked Dahlia and Winston, their relationship felt like a total repeat of Ruggle's characters George and Ellie from Gone Too Deep.)
Evan Smoak's mission:
find a lost dog...and track a killer
before she kills him.
Thriller .... 383 pages .... 5/5 stars.
(Evan Smoak, otherwise known as Orphan X and The Nowhere Man, is still one of my all-time favorite characters. Another action-packed and suspenseful read.)
Dread Journey by Dorothy B. Hughes
Not everyone will
survive this train ride from
Hollywood to New York.
Psychological suspense .... 181 pages .... 4/5 stars.
(Loved Hughes' writing as well as the cat-and-mouse game between the passengers.)
Happy Reading!
Evan Smoak - I've read a few of that series, but another one that I need to catch up on. Good to hear that this newest entry is a 5/5!
ReplyDeleteI just love Evan as a character so much! And Joey has a very funny part in this one, too. :D
DeleteGlad to see that Evan Smoak continues to deliver the thrills!
ReplyDeleteHe does for me! :D
DeleteI love Dorothy B. Hughes but haven't read that book yet. I'm glad it gets 4 stars from you!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed it...I loved how she told it and how the suspense builds up as the train journey progresses.
DeleteAlways happy to see your haiku reviews! That's too bad about Fish Out of Water, but I'm glad you enjoyed the other two. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was a little disappointed with Fish Out of Water. Ruggle has written better.
DeleteI really need to give the Hurwitz books another chance. I didn't love the first one, but so many of my trusted book reviewers (yourself included) love the series.
ReplyDeleteYou either connect with Evan Smoak as a character or you don't. His past, and his rules and his skills, and his attempts to atone for his past while still struggling to connect with other people worked for me. And that's why I like these books so much. Though I didn't love the second book as much as the others...it's darker and was harder to read.
DeleteI love these haiku reviews so much! And I've got to read that Gregg Hurwitz! The haiku paired with a 5/5 leaves me intrigued...
ReplyDeleteI love Hurwitz's Orphan X series. But I do recommend starting with the first book.
DeleteI love your Haiku reviews and in just 3 liInes you give us the essence of a novel and what to expect. Dread Journey sounds interesting and Dorothy Hughes is a classic mystery writer. In A Lonely Place was excellent.
ReplyDeleteDread Journey was the first book I've read by Hughes, but I really liked it. I look forward to reading A Lonely Place sometime soon. :D
DeleteLoved Lone Wolf too. After mulling over Fish Out of Water I think I was a little generous with my rating. I think it was my joy over having Ruggle writing again, but you're right about it seeming to be a repeat of George and Ellie, and that one was a much better story. I love murder mysteries set on a train! I'll have to look that one up. :)
ReplyDeleteI was excited to see a new book out by Ruggle, too. Though I'm still very bummed she hasn't finished writing the bounty hunting sisters series. And George & Ellie's story was awesome. :D
DeleteOh, yes! I forgot about the bounty hunting sisters! I really liked that first one! Yes, George and Ellie's was one of my favorites from her! :)
DeleteFish out of Water's cover is cute though ;) Sorry it wasn't better!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was a little disappointed. It felt like a rehash of a previous novel. And she could have made it so fun.
DeleteIntriguing reviews as always.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dorothy! :D
DeleteThey all sounds interesting. Thanks for the reviews.
ReplyDeleteHi, Mary! :D
DeleteYeah The Lone Wolf looks good. I'd like to find the lost dog too.
ReplyDeleteIt's this fiesty, kind of ugly little dog adored by it's young owner that keeps getting lost. It made for a lot of humorous moments in this book.
DeleteI'm interested in the Dorothy Hughes. I've liked those American Mystery Classics reprints.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading these classic mysteries, too. And I thought Dread Journey was a good one!
DeleteOrphan X is always on my agenda. A dog? I'm ready for it!
ReplyDeleteHi!!! It's so good to hear from you. I've missed your posts and your comments. And the Orphan X series is one of my favs. :D
DeleteLone Wolf and Dread Journey sound so good! I am curious about the Katie Ruggle book. I enjoy her books--although haven't loved them exactly. They are a fun escape, I think.
ReplyDeleteThey are a fun escape! There were little things about this one that bugged me, but I did really like both her main characters and the ending is cute.
DeleteDefinitely need to add Dread Journey to my TBR and Lone Wolf sounds like a good read as well. I think I'll skip the first book though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's not as good as her other books imo.
DeleteLove the Haikus. Brevity is the soul of wit! Also really like these covers.
ReplyDeleteBrief reviews is all I seem able to do these days. ;D
DeleteDread Journey looks fabulous! I love mysteries on trains :)
ReplyDeleteI love mysteries set on a train, too! Murder on the Orient Express is probably my fav.
DeleteThat fellow on the cover of Fish Out of Water doesn't look to grumpy...or much like a hermit. Is he the grump in question here?
ReplyDeleteHe is supposed to be the grump and that's part of the problem...he's NOT grumpy. Just another one of those plot inconsistencies I mentioned.
DeleteI have probably said this before, but I have to read something by Gregg Hurwitz.
ReplyDeleteThat is a great brief review of Dread Journey. Now I have to push it to the top of my "reading soon" pile.
I was surprised in a good way by how much I ended up liking Dread Journey. And Hurwitz has written a lot of good books...not all in this series. I do recommend him as an author. :D
DeleteThe publishers should give you a job writing the infos on the back cover, your haikus are far better than what they put on most of them.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't that be a dream job? I'd love to make money writing bookish haikus! :D
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