Liar, Liar

A faithful dog lies wounded beside the mutilated body of its owner.

A woman is discovered bound and gagged, dead in her own bed.

Both are police officers.

Both have a red rose at their side... worryingly more will follow...
Lies and accusations abound but who is behind the murders and why are the victims being targeted?

Charlie, Hunter and the team must find the killer targeting their own before another body is found.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Liar, Liar by Sarah Flint is the third novel in the DC Charlotte Stafford series. In this installment, set in London, Charlie and her team of detectives are up against a killer who is targeting police officers and killing them in overly gruesome ways. Up against the clock, Charlie must figure out not only who is committing these murders, but why they're doing it, in order to save her team. 

Though I haven't read the first two books in this series, I liked Charlie's character and felt that the details Flint shares make it easy to form a connection with her. Charlie is a hopeful character with a creative mind and a caring heart. She assigns importance to the people in her life and tries to ensure she's always there for them, even when it's a struggle for her to do so. She's an intelligent detective who wants to uncover the big picture before calling it a success and she's someone who doesn't give up easily in the face of a little backlash. I think readers will connect with Charlie through both her persistence and drive as well as her questioning mind and will respect Charlie for her work ethic and thorough personality. 

The plot of this novel follows both the killer (though unknown to the reader) and Charlie's team as they discover a serial murderer who is targeting officers. The reason why the officers are being targeted was a very interesting aspect of the book to me - they all had complaints from the public that were being investigated. I think this adds a little controversy and true life circumstance to this fictional crime thriller, which makes the book a bit more engaging. Though there were slow periods in between the investigative sections due to in-depth detail and procedural explanation, I really enjoyed reading this book. I would definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy crime thrillers, mysteries, and a race against the clock. However, I do have to admit that I was a little disappointed by the killer as it was a bit easy to guess once I hit the halfway point of the book. I like being stumped on a mystery and this one didn't get me. Maybe I'm watching too many crime dramas and reading too many thrillers... Regardless, I would definitely continue to the series. Or go back and start it for that matter. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Teaser Tuesday (302)

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

Liar, Liar (Kindle 49%)

   - Sarah Flint

Powell's guilt was absolute. The presence of the red roses, the stems devoid of thorns at each murder scene connected them irrefutably. However, the significance of the roses remained unknown, and the only reason for the removal of thorns appeared to be the avoidance of inadvertent DNA contamination. The team wanted more... 

Death Never Lies

The federal bureaucrat charged with stopping the importation of dangerous materials vanishes only days before approving a new list of prohibited substances.

Homicide detective turned Homeland Security Agent Greg Kane suspects that the HHS employee may have been killed to keep the new list from going into effect, but he has no idea who's behind the crime, which chemical they are so desperate to import, and what they plan to do with it once they've gotten their hands on it.

After he dives into the case things quickly get complicated for Kane with twists, turns and the tangled relationships that comprise Greg Kane's life.

*May Contain Spoilers*

David Grace pens a crime thriller with focused details in his novel, Death Never Sleeps. Many small occurrences lead readers to the present plot of this book. As a Baltimore Police Officer, Gregory Kane is shot in the head, leaving him angry and blunt. Jason Kane disappears while transporting a criminal to a prison upstate. An importation regulator goes missing while a hit is taken out on a Supreme Court Justice. One loose thread can unravel the entire mystery, if only Kane and his partner can find it. 

Greg Kane is the main character of the book, but not the only important character nor the only character that readers will relate to. After running into gun fire to stop a couple of robbers, Kane is injured as a bullet skips along his brain like a rock thrown perfectly over a pond. Readers immediately know that Kane is brave, courageous, and a little ways off from normal. When he's transferred to Homeland Security, Kane is given a certain amount of leeway because of his history, but he still manages to irritate nearly everyone he comes into contact with. He's more intelligent than most and thinks he is a humorist. No matter, readers will enjoy the upfront officer who doesn't play nice. It's refreshing when a character surprises you and Kane is full of surprises. 

Both Danny Rosewood and Allison Varner are also characters that readers will enjoy. Danny is a desk jockey who does everything he can to look good on paper so one day he'll become a field agent. He's incredibly loyal, voracious for information, and never complains. Allison is the semi-love interest of Kane. Her husband died of cancer two years prior and she won't accept that he's gone. Readers will understand her point of view but won't necessarily agree with some of her decisions. 

The plot is a complete twister of chaos and criminal activity that all fits together rather nicely. Maybe a little too nicely? Or maybe the investigation has a lot of facets? I'm thinking a little bit of both. The main point is that Munroe, a criminal who escaped police a few years prior, has returned and a scientist has disappeared. Kane knows that if he can catch Munroe then a) he will find out what happened to his nephew Jason Kane, who Greg thinks was murdered by the criminal, b) exact his revenge on the dirty cop who aided Mr. Munroe, and c) save the United States from a new drug that's about to go into production. Though there is a lot going on, Grace does a wonderful job in keeping everything direct and understandable for readers. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups