Jul 24, 2019
[Outside, Sam and Nolan have a heated exchange.]
seen from United States
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[Outside, Sam and Nolan have a heated exchange.]
[A few weeks later, Poppy is celebrating the holidays with Nolan and Bax.]
[Poppy comes home from her first day of work to a surprise visit from Nolan.]
REVIEW
A Lonesome Place for Murder by Nolan Chase
An Ethan Brand Mystery #2
~ Dark, gritty, immersive ~ Great addition to the series ~ Couldn’t put it down~
What I Liked:
* Ethan Brand: Police Chief, ex-Marine, wounded in battle, separated two years from his wife and two sons who live on the East Coast, cool, calm, lethal, thoughtful, intriguing, hooked - want to get to know him better and find out where life takes him * The small-town community and all of the small town issues that crop up * The police procedural aspects of the murder mystery and the way clues were unearthed
* Characters were believable and very human
* Watching Ethan deal with being police chief while also navigating being single, missing his family, dealing with loneliness, and the women that come into his life
* Learning more about Ethan’s backstory, father, a young man that lived with his family for a while, his military experience, book club, and more
* The mystery of who the bones in the tunnel were, the importance of tunnels in the story, and the link back to Ethan’s childhood
* Getting to know the supporting characters better
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing – especially some of the twists toward the end
* That I cared about the outcome and the impact that it had on more than one character in the story
* That the mystery was solved and tied up with a bow – no cliffhanger
* All of it rally except…
What I didn’t like: * Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about nature vs nurture and how much of both impacted how some of the characters in this book turned out
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
BLURB
In this dark mystery, perfect for fans of C. J. Box, one wrong step leads Ethan Brand to the most dangerous case of his career...and the most personal. Hoping to surprise his sons, Ethan Brand, the chief of police of a small town in northern Washington state, is contemplating buying a horse. But when the horse literally stumbles upon an abandoned smuggling tunnel, Ethan and his lead investigator Brenda Lee Page discover a dead body connected to a decade-old mystery. . Ten years ago, Tyler Rash, a troubled friend of Ethan’s, vanished without a trace. The body in the tunnel has Tyler’s ID and personal effects. As Ethan and Brenda Lee investigate Tyler’s disappearance, they follow a trail that leads them to a cross-border smuggling operation connected to the town’s notorious family of smugglers. And when a bomb is sent to Ethan’s own house, the case takes a deadly and personal turn. A killer is stalking Ethan Brand–a killer he’ll have to face if he wants to see his family again.
REVIEW
A Lonesome Place for Dying by Nolan Chase
Perfect introduction to a new series…if indeed this IS a new series… This story is filled with small town people doing their best, and their worst, every single day of their lives. Ethan Brand, new on the job as police chief, is faced with a murder to solve. Will those he worked with and now is in charge of treat him with respect? Will he be able to live up to the job? How many will be against him and who will stand with him?
What I liked: * Ethan Brand: ex-Marine, wounded in battle, fifteen years a policeman, just became police chief, separated from his wife and two sons who live on the East Coast, cool, calm, lethal, romantic, thoughtful, a good man with a few flaws – intriguing – would like to learn more about him
* The small-town community with all the typical issues to be faced by the police in such a town
* The police procedural aspects of the murder mystery and the way clues were unearthed
* That the characters felt believable and there were some I began to care about and would like to know more about
* Ethan’s ability to understand, do what is right, and help those he can – he has a big heart
* The hired assassin’s part in the story and wondering if he might show up in the future
* Wondering how Ethan will settle into being Police Chief and if he will find people to spend time with socially if this is a series
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing
* That the case was wrapped up – no cliffhanger
* Finding out that this author also writes under the name Sam Wiebe
What I didn’t like: * Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about how evil some of the characters were and how willing they were to commit the crimes they did
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars
BLURB
Blaine, Washington is a seaside town where on an average day, the most serious police work involves dealing with stray coyotes or ticketing speeders along the I-5. Ethan Brand is reporting for his first day on the job as Blaine, Washington’s newest Chief of Police. Before Ethan can start his first shift, he finds a threat on his porch, along with a gruesome souvenir, a bloody heart. There are plenty of people who are upset about Ethan stepping into the shoes of the last Chief, but when a body shows up on the railroad tracks, he’s got to focus on the task at hand. With a population of only five thousand, Blaine sees eight million vehicles pass through its Peace Arch crossing every year. It’s the perfect site for drug smuggling, human trafficking, larceny, and murder. Ethan begins to realize that the sleepy town has a lot more secrets than he originally thought. With no one to trust, his job already on the line, and the threats getting bolder and more reckless, Ethan Brand must find the killers and bring them to justice.
[Poppy wakes up on New Years Day to some painful memories from last night.]
[Nolan walks Poppy home from their date during a snowstorm.]