#Review - All the Pretty Girls by J.T. Ellison #Mystery #Suspense

Series: Taylor Jackson # 1
Format: Paperback
Release Date: May 5, 2026
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher
Genre: Mystery, Suspense

In a thrilling series from New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison, a serial killer is targeting young women across the South, and each new kill comes with a grisly clue pointing to the next victim.

When a young woman is found dead just outside of Nashville, strangled and handless, homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson is quick to the scene. So is FBI Special Agent John Baldwin, whose presence suggests that the murder is not the work of a random opportunist. A love poem left nearby alludes to something more sinister: This is the work of the “Southern Strangler,” a serial killer terrorizing women from Louisiana to Virginia.

It’s the kind of case Jackson thrives on. At thirty-five, Metro Nashville’s youngest lieutenant is still an idealist, hell-bent on protecting the city she calls home. And she’s determined to avoid the broken, lonely path she’s seen other cops take. But while she and Baldwin share more than a working relationship, she’s not ready to go public.

With victims across multiple states, Jackson and Baldwin race to find a pattern before the killer strikes again. But then a shocking connection between the Strangler and a local reporter brings them closer to the truth behind the killer’s identity—one that could unveil a family’s darkest secrets.

J.T. Ellison's All the Pretty Girls is the first installment in the author's Taylor Jackson series. This is a revised edition of a book that was published in 2007. There are two main characters: Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson and FBI Special Agent and Profiler John Baldwin. The story is a Nashville-set police procedural that mixes serial-killer hunt, media ambition, and romantic tension. It launched Ellison as a reliable writer of Southern crime fiction and still reads like a confident first outing—gritty, geographically specific, and built around a heroine who rejects the life she was born into. 

The premise is classic genre architecture. A young woman is found strangled and missing a hand just outside Nashville. The signature—previous victim’s severed hand left at the next scene, plus fragments of Romantic poetry (Wordsworth, Blake, Coleridge)—marks the work of the Southern Strangler, a killer operating across state lines from Louisiana to Virginia. Metro Nashville Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson, 35 and the department’s youngest lieutenant, catches the local body. FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin arrives because the case is already multi-jurisdictional. They are also lovers, though Taylor is not ready to make that public. 

Running alongside the Strangler investigation are a serial rapist known as the Rain Man, an ambitious local TV reporter named Whitney Connolly who thinks she has an exclusive that will get her out of Nashville, and Whitney’s twin sister Quinn, a Belle Meade socialite. The two cases and the Connolly family secrets eventually converge. Ellison has described the killer as initially “reluctant,” a figure whose original motives become warped—an attempt to give the villain more psychology than pure sadism. 

Taylor Jackson is the book’s strongest asset. Raised in wealthy Belle Meade, she walked away from debutante expectations to become a cop. She is idealistic, stubborn, still recovering from a serious neck injury that nearly killed her, and determined not to become the isolated, burned-out detective she has seen around her. Baldwin functions as both professional partner and romantic interest; their relationship is present but not the engine of the plot. Medical examiner Samantha Owens, Taylor’s childhood friend, appears as a supporting presence who would later get her own spin-off series.

Whitney Connolly is more vividly drawn than many reporter characters in this genre—hungry, reckless, and closer to the story than she realizes. Thematic concerns include hidden family lies, the collision of old Nashville money and working-class law enforcement, and the way private damage produces public violence. The poetry left at scenes is both a calling card and a window into the killer’s self-mythology. The title itself nods to the nursery rhyme and a Grimm tale Ellison has cited as early inspiration. 

All the Pretty Girls is a capable, atmospheric series starter rather than a reinvention of the serial-killer procedural. It does what it sets out to do: introduce a distinctive Nashville detective, establish her world and relationships, and deliver a grisly, multi-state chase with enough twists to keep most thriller readers turning pages. It is not the most original book in the genre, and the extra plot threads sometimes dilute the main hunt. For readers who want a strong female lead, Southern setting, and unapologetic darkness, it remains a worthwhile entry point.

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#Review - Into the Fire by Allison Brennan #Mystery #Thriller

Series: Angelhart Investigations # 0.5
Format: 159 pages, Kindle Edition

Release Date: May 28, 2024
Publisher: MIRA
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Margo Angelhart was recently certified as a private investigator, but she isn’t convinced that it’s her calling. All of her cases have been minor, mostly for family and haven’t paid the bills. She’s more than happy to keep bartending and figure out her post-military career later. That is, until prosecutor Andy Flannigan walks into her bar and offers her a case she can’t turn down…

Nineteen-year-old Sergio Diaz has confessed to murder—except Andy doesn’t buy it. With his own job on the line, Andy asks Margo to work the case discreetly. The more she digs, the more she’s convinced an innocent kid is going to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Now she just needs to figure out why he’d confess. Can Margo prove Sergio’s innocence and help Andy find the real killer before anyone else dies?

Into the Fire, by author Allison Brennan, is a 125-page novella that introduces readers to Margo Angelhart and the Angelhart family. A story that takes place years before You'll Never Find Me. This novella serves as a strong origin piece for protagonist Margo Angelhart, establishing her background, skills, self-doubt, and growing confidence while delivering a compact, satisfying mystery. 

Margo Angelhart is a recently certified private investigator who is not yet fully committed to the career. After serving in the Army (including time as military police), she has returned to her hometown in Arizona. She bartends to pay the bills while handling only minor PI cases—mostly for family—and remains uncertain about her post-military path. She comes from a large, high-achieving extended family of investigators, which adds pressure and a sense that she doesn't quite measure up. 

The story kicks off when prosecutor Andy Flannigan, a regular at the bar and a friend, approaches her discreetly. Nineteen-year-old Sergio Diaz has confessed to a convenience-store robbery and murder, but Andy does not believe the confession is genuine. With his own position at risk if he appears to undermine the case, he asks Margo to investigate quietly. As she digs in, she becomes convinced an innocent young man is heading to prison and must uncover both the truth and Sergio’s reasons for confessing—before more people get hurt. 

Even in novella length, the mystery holds interest. Margo’s investigation unfolds methodically—talking to people who know Sergio, examining evidence like gunshot residue and video, and following leads—with a procedural feel that many readers appreciate. Her military background informs her instincts and approach without turning her into an over-the-top action hero. Margo starts unsure of herself and her place relative to her successful family. Working this case forces her to trust her judgment, think creatively, and commit more fully to the PI path. 

Supporting characters, including Andy and members of Margo’s family, feel lived-in and add warmth and realism. Family dynamics and loyalty themes run through the story without overwhelming the central mystery. Sergio’s situation (including motivations tied to protecting loved ones) gives the case emotional stakes beyond pure puzzle-solving. My one main complaint remains the unknown about Margo's father, and what really happened between this novella and the first installment in the series. I really want the author to address that angle sooner rather than later. 

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#Review - The Ten Year Lie by Debra Webb #Thriller #Suspense

Series: Dark and Dangerous # 1
Format: 331 pages, Paperback
Release Date: March 17, 2026
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher
Genre: Thriller, Suspense

A wrongfully convicted man and the key witness against him join forces to figure out who framed him for murder in a riveting novel of small-town secrets by USA Today bestselling author Debra Webb.

Every person in Pine Bluff, Alabama, stood behind Emily Wallace when she testified against Clint Austin. After all, Emily knows what she saw that terrible night: Clint, covered in blood, holding the body of her best friend Heather.

But Clint has always maintained his innocence, and now, after a successful appeal, he has come home to prove it.

The whole town is furious about his return, and Emily becomes obsessed with sending Clint back to prison—until her father reveals a devastating secret that casts doubt on the whole trial. What if she was wrong?

When another person with a connection to Heather turns up dead, Clint and Emily embark on a desperate search to find the truth. Because ten years ago, they were both betrayed by someone they know. So who, in a town full of liars, is getting away with murder?

Revised edition: Previously published as Traceless, this edition of The Ten Year Lie includes editorial revisions.

The Ten Year Lie, by Debra Webb, was previously published as Traceless. The book includes editorial revisions and is the first installment in what the author calls Dark and Dangerous. The book alternates between two main characters: Clint Austin, who spent 10 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and Emily Wallace, the woman whose testimony helped put Clint in prison. Other chapters also feature people who know the truth; some want to cover it up, and some believe that if the truth comes out, the town will destroy itself. 

In the fictional town of Pine Bluff, Alabama, Emily Wallace’s testimony was pivotal in convicting Clint Austin of murdering her best friend Heather. Emily is certain of what she saw that night: Clint covered in blood, holding Heather’s body. Clint has always maintained his innocence. After a successful appeal (tied to the Exoneration Project in some accounts), he returns home determined to clear his name. 

The town reacts with fury and hostility; Emily is initially obsessed with seeing him returned to prison. A devastating secret her father reveals begins to crack her certainty. When another person connected to Heather turns up dead, the two former lovers are forced into a reluctant partnership to uncover the truth. Ten years earlier, both were betrayed by someone they knew—in a community full of liars, who is still getting away with murder? 

Webb leans into the atmospheric strengths of a close-knit Southern town where everyone knows everyone and secrets fester. The setting feels claustrophobic and authentic, with the interconnected lives of lifelong residents, local power dynamics, and simmering resentments amplifying the tension. Clint emerges as a hardened yet driven figure shaped by a decade of wrongful imprisonment—bitter, focused on justice, and still carrying residual feelings for Emily. 

Emily is more conflicted: guilt over the past, determination that curdles into doubt, and a gradual reevaluation of everything she believed. Their enemies-to-reluctant-allies dynamic (with rekindled attraction) drives much of the emotional core. Supporting characters populate the town with potential motives and hidden agendas, contributing to the layered mystery of corruption, blackmail, abuse of power, and long-buried truths. 

The novel balances suspense with romantic elements. Action and investigation escalate once new threats surface, and the central mystery benefits from misdirection. Readers who enjoy small-town thrillers with personal stakes and steamy romantic tension will find familiar pleasures. Complaints: The first half feels slow or repetitive as it establishes the town’s hostility toward Clint and the characters’ entrenched positions. The romance, while charged, is, at times, poorly timed or insufficiently convincing amid the trauma and danger. The large cast can occasionally feel overwhelming, and the resolution feels abrupt or incomplete (understandable as series groundwork). 

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#Review - Storm Warning by James Byrne #Thriller #Suspense

Series: Dez Limerick # 4
Format: 400 pages, Hardcover
Release Date: May 26, 2026
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Source: Publisher 
Genre: Thriller, Suspense

Dez Limerick has his considerable skills pushed to the limit when, to rescue a friend, he has to get to—and get into—a state of the art facility on full lockdown, with considerable forces determined to stop him.

Desmond Aloysius Limerick—'Dez' to all who know him—is a man with a shadowy past, certain hard-to-replicate skills, and a reputation as a good man to have when the going gets tough. Dez is doing his best to enjoy his retirement, wandering the country, doing what interests him, and occasionally helping friends when they find themselves needing any of his particular skills—mundane or extraordinary. For Dez was trained as a 'gatekeeper' - someone who can open any door, keep it open, and control who does and does not go through.

It's those skills that are now in demand when the State Department comes calling looking for his help. A multinational scientific research facility on the coast of Newfoundland has gone dark, the facility on full lockdown, and no one can get in or out. No one knows what is going on, but it can't be good. And a close friend of Dez is presumed locked inside the facility along with everyone else.

Even getting to the facility is an insurmountable challenge. The weather has flights grounded, some shadowy group is doing everything they can to impede the rescue team's progress, and hidden enemies are embedded in the rescue team. But anyone who thinks this is more than one man can face has never met Dez Limerick.

Storm Warning is the Fourth installment in author James Byrne's Dez Limerick series. Desmond “Dez” Aloysius Limerick is a former military “gatekeeper”—a specialist trained to breach any locked entrance, keep it open as long as needed, and control who passes through. In his semi-retirement, he drifts between musical gigs (he plays bass), cooking, and helping friends with his unusual skill set.

When a multinational scientific research facility on the remote Newfoundland coast—the Fuchs Underground Neutrino Collector, tied to both particle physics research and a valuable mineral deposit—goes into full lockdown with total communication blackout, the U.S. State Department and an FBI Hostage Rescue Team recruit him. A personal connection seals the deal: a close friend (Petra Alexandris, a corporate executive tied to the facility’s funding) is among those trapped inside. 

Getting there is half the battle. Brutal North Atlantic storms ground flights and force improvisation. Corporate interests try to insert themselves onto the mission. Saboteurs and mercenaries interfere. Hidden threats exist within the rescue team itself. An assassin from Dez’s past (the diminutive, highly skilled Ash, whom he previously spared) reappears in disguise. Once at the facility, the team faces a sealed, multi-level underground complex that has been taken over by ruthless operators. 

Extreme weather, technological barriers, and human adversaries push Dez’s ingenuity, physical skills, and moral code to their limits. Byrne’s plotting is propulsive. The novel opens with a tense Paris set-piece that plants seeds for later events, then shifts into the main mission with little downtime. Action sequences feel cinematic yet inventive: Dez relies as much on quick thinking, environmental improvisation, and technical knowledge (he has a background in physics and engineering) as on combat. 

The blizzard-lashed setting and the claustrophobic underground facility add authentic atmospheric pressure; the cold, isolation, and mechanical constraints heighten every confrontation. Dez himself remains the series’ greatest asset. He is tough and capable without the grim invincibility of some thriller protagonists. He cracks wise under pressure, shows compassion (sometimes to a fault), underestimates no one, and operates by a personal code rather than pure professionalism or vengeance. 

Supporting characters are sharply drawn: the poker-playing State Department official, her protective detail, the assassin Ash (whose perspective and backstory add layers), and various corporate and mercenary antagonists. Byrne weaves in threads from prior books without requiring full series knowledge, though returning readers will appreciate the continuity and character development. It is not perfect.

Like many entries in the “one highly skilled operator against stacked odds” subgenre, it asks for occasional suspension of disbelief. Some villains lean toward the diabolical or over-the-top. A late twist, while effective at setting up future possibilities, struck at least one reviewer as somewhat contrived. These are minor quibbles in a book whose primary goal is relentless entertainment. Fans of Jack Reacher, Mission: Impossible-style set pieces, or inventive action heroes will find a lot to enjoy

CHAPTER 1

TODAY

Desmond Aloysius Limerick ties a red apron around his white tunic and stares at the hemp bag on the butcher-block table. “What’s all this, then?”

Sly Colehouse is tying her very long dreads into a single rope that hangs down to the small of her back. Some of the dreads are dyed red and blue. She’s just returned from the Monday farmers market in Queens. She says, “Leeks.”

“How many d’you need?”

She says, “All of them.”

Desmond—Dez to his friends—laughs. “Jay-sus, girl! How many did ye buy?”

She smiles. “All of them.”

She laughs at the face he makes. She reaches over and touches his biceps through his white, button-down cook’s tunic. “Ahhh. Are the nasty old leeks too much for your big muscly arms?”

“Y’know, there’s a reason I retired young,” he grumbles, reaching for his paring knife, “so nobody can order me around.”

* * *

Three weeks ago, Dez was enjoying the New York art scene, picking up some gigs as a bass player and pianist, when one of his bandmates told him about the Cheshire Cat. The owners were running into some trouble with a protection racket, and would Dez be willing to help? Dez has no love for bullies. He met the owners, plus the up-and-coming chef, Sly, and quickly agreed to help.

His second day there, the dudes running protection showed up. Dez chatted them up in the alley in the back, explaining that the owners wished no further visits from the gentlemen. They talked a bit. Dez returned to the kitchen and called an ambulance for them. And that was all of that. They never returned.

* * *

That was two weeks ago. Dez has been hanging around just to be on the safe side, and because he surprised himself by falling in love with the rhythm of being a cook in a high-end restaurant. He’s learning things every day. Plus, he has nowhere else to be. Why not be here?

Also, as luck would have it, Sly Colehouse has taken to the notion of sleeping with him. No strings, ships passing in the night, as it were. She’s quite a lovely bird, and she makes him laugh. This arrangement is working out quite splendidly.

He’s renting a tiny room, really, no more than a bedsitter, from a plump and pleasant Englishwoman, a Mrs. Welliver, not four blocks from the restaurant. She favors paint-speckled overalls and Crocs, and she smiles incessantly, apple-cheeked. She ribs Dez about his “lady friend” staying over. Dez thinks she’s a hoot.

One day he finds her struggling with the door to the apartment building’s cellar. She rattles the handle, yanking on the door.

“Morning, Mrs. Welliver. Need a hand?”

She says, “Are you any good with doors, Desmond?”

Dez laughs. “A bit.”

* * *

It’s late morning, and the kitchen of the Cheshire Cat has obtained the proper level of insanity. It’s hot and humid. Sly Colehouse barks orders, and her four cooks hop to. Sly is the chef de cuisine. She calls the shots, and everyone does as told.

Dez stands out among the five people working the kitchen. First, he has the least experience and the least talent, having only worked as a short-order cook a few times in his life, among many other jobs. Second, he’s from the UK, and the others are all from somewhere along the Eastern Seaboard. Third, he’s put together like a bulldozer. It took Sly ages to find a chef’s tunic big enough for his neck, chest, and biceps.

“Gonna get rich!” Sly sings out from where she’s deveining shrimp.

The four cooks shout, “Oui, chef!”

“Gonna get me that Michelin star!”

“Oui, chef!”

“Gonna beat Bobby Fucking Flay!”

“Oui, chef!”

The call-and-response is something Sly Colehouse gets going most days, within an hour of the hostess opening the front of the shop. Her team cracks up, going along with it. There are only thirty tables at the Cheshire Cat. Thirty of the thirty will fill for lunch. And for dinner; the tables will turn over thrice. And so on and so on. It opened five months ago and the place is all the rage in this part of New York City.

* * *

The lunch rush goes by in a sweaty blur. The place shuts down from two to four to restock and to prepare for whatever entrées Sly has conjured up for that day; they differ often. Dez gulps water, joshes with the others.

Natasha, a honey blonde who serves as the hostess, steps into the kitchen. “Dez? There’s a guy in a suit here to see you.”

Sly doesn’t look up from dicing shallots at her station. “If it’s a cop, pretend you don’t speak English. I’ve heard you talk; it’s mostly true.”

Dez washes his hands and hangs a towel over his shoulder and steps out into the front of the house.

A guy is waiting for him. Dez’s eyes pop wide. “Special Agent! Now there’s a nice surprise!”

Tom Fairweather is a team leader of the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team. He and Dez had met earlier in the year.

The man is a bit of a legend. He’s only in his late forties but with prematurely gray hair. He’s not that tall, not that strongly built. He has largish ears and downturned eyes. No one alive has ever heard him shout or swear or express anger or anxiousness. He leads the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s number one counterterrorism force but to look at him, you’d assume he was an accountant.

He offers his hand. “Mr. Limerick. How are you?”

They shake. “Nary a complaint. Surprised to see yez.”

Fairweather nods. “We have a door we can’t open. I could use a gatekeeper.”

Dez says, “How long’s it likely t’take? The dinner rush starts soon.”

Tom Fairweather says, “It’s in a remote part of Canada. It’s in the path of a series of very nasty North Atlantic storms. And we suspect we’ll meet violence.”

Dez says, “Best get my coat.”

* * *

Dez returns to the kitchen and tells Sly Colehouse. She leads him out to the little corridor for some privacy, doffing her apron. She hugs him. “Is this goodbye?”

He hugs her back. “Likely. An’ the restaurant’s safe now.”

She arranges her dreads over one shoulder. “Dez. Look. Ah, this isn’t easy to say. This thing between us? It’s—”

Dez smiles. “Run its course?”

Her shoulders drop in relief. “Yeah. Probably. I think. You okay?”

He hugs her again. “Am. You’re amazing, but aye. I’m fine.”

She buries her head in his chest. “Thank you so much. For everything. Now get out of my kitchen and make room for a real cook.”

“You know I saved your restaurant from the ravages of evil men.”

She pecks him on the cheek, palms on his chest. “Yeah, but I tasted your béchamel, too. It evens out.”

Dez laughs and heads to the front of the house. “Ta, love. Be well.”

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