Publication Day Review: The Taken Ones: A J.P Beaumont Novel by J. A. Jance

The Taken Ones: A J.P Beaumont Novel by J.A. Jance features a large cast of characters, a horrible multistate missing person case, and a slow-moving tale of greed and deceit. One also wonders if this is the last one in the series. If so, it ends well.

 

It is late May 2025 as the book opens with J.P. Beaumont and his family in Bellingham, Washington. His wife, Melissa Socmes, has just retired from being chief of police for the city of Bellingham. His grandson, Kyle Cartwright, was one of the rookies sworn in by the police chief yesterday shortly before her duties ended. The public side of things is over. Today is for a private party that is part family reunion and part retirement celebration. Everything is to be kept from Mel and Kyle and J.P. might have pulled it off. After the party, Mel and J.P. will head out to Calgary, Cananda, on a vacation trip.

 

At the same time, a friend that J.P. met awhile back while working a case in Alaska, has a lot going on in her life as well. Twinkle Winkleman is at home, running her auto repair business, taking care of her grandson and more. A long-time client, Art Holt, comes to see her.

 

He does not need a mechanic; he needs an investigator and help. His granddaughter, Regina, has gone missing.  Everybody calls her Gina. A brilliant student, she is in college, and went to Seattle where she is supposed to have an internship. It’s been several days since she allegedly arrived at the airport in Seattle and subsequently vanished. The police have been zero help. Because of what Twinkle was able accomplish when she went through something similar a few years back, Art Holt has come to see her to seek her advice on what to do next.

 

She has some ideas. After promising Art she will help before sending him on his way, she reaches out to J.P. Beaumont, former detective and current private investigator, and ask him to help.

 

He does and reaches out for help through his contacts. Beaumont still has contacts and through those contacts he is able to get the ball rolling on the case. What gradually evolves is a tale of multiple brilliant young women being taken for some unknown purpose. The cases are spaced out and occurring all over the country. So local law enforcement has no idea that their solitary case is part of a nationwide network of cases. Until J.P. and his wife, Mel, start putting pieces together.

 

The Taken Ones: A J.P Beaumont Novel by J.A. Jance is a complicated tale full of a large cast of characters, each with their own point of view. Those points of view shift with each chapter as pieces of the tale are related to the reader by the investigators, the captive women, and others. That and all the exposition and backstory of several characters, makes for a very slow moving read for nearly two thirds of this book. The last third is a rocket trip to a finish and a satisfying conclusion.

 

While not one of the best reads in this long running series, the overall read is  enjoyable if you stick with it. It also ends well and provides a nice cap to the series if this is the final book.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4dVYACo 

 

Make sure you read Aubrey's review here. 

My digital ARC was provided by the publisher, William Morrow, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Publication Day Review: The Hollow: A Bosch Novel by Michael Connelly

As The Hollow: A Bosch Novel by Michael Connelly begins, retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is at a cemetery. Having undergone a recent knee replacement, he can’t chase anyone, and is using a cane for support. He doesn’t plan on chasing anyone today though he is definitely going to confront Gregory Talbot.

 

He knows without a shadow of a doubt that Talbot killed his wife years ago. It has been 25 years since he did it and got away with it. Jenifer was found beaten to death in her apartment where she had recently moved. The scene appeared to be of an intruder that had waited for her to come home from work and then killed her. Bosch knows that the scene was staged and that the husband did it.

 

Back in the day, Bosch was very close to breaking Talbot. They verbally fenced in the interrogation room for a couple of hours and then Talbot asked for a lawyer and that was that.  

 

He still wants justice for Jennifer. Good thing he has the help of LAPD Detective Renee Ballard and her volunteer cold case team.

 

That isn’t the only long dormant case Bosch is working and seeking justice. Decades ago, after the murder of his mother, Bosch was in the foster system. He spent a lot of time MacLaren Children’s Center (MacLaren Hall). Allegedly a safe place for youth in the foster system in Los Angeles, it was a very bad place.

 

In a way, Bosch was one of the lucky ones. He was only physically abused. He was never sexually assaulted. He survived the horrible place. His friend, Charlie Edward Lamb, known to all as “Chops,” did not.

 

Bosch is convinced that Chops was murdered back in 1965. There was a place, under the stairs, that was referred to as “the hollow.” Bosch is sure Chops was killed in that space. Now that the lawsuit has been settled with the county, and finds will be released to the survivors, the legal case is over. Now, through his lawyer brother, Mickey Haller, Bosch can finally see all of the discovery materials related to the case. That includes internal reports of what happened to Chops and other kids at the facility.

 

Those records give him a thread to begin digging into the past. That digging will also bring him into a world of problems.

 

The result is a complicated and very enjoyable read. We learn quite a bit more, through flashback scenes of his memories of his time at MacLaren Children’s Center (MacLaren Hall), how Bosch came to be who he is now. While it would be best to read this series in order, one could safely read The Hollow: A Bosch Novel first as references to other reads are fairly minimal.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4xEuMRQ

 

 

I received a digital ARC, at my request, of the book from the publisher, Little, Brown and Company, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: Miss Wolcott’s Ghost by Louise Penny

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Miss Wolcott’s Ghost by Louise Penny

Happiness Is A Book: Friday’s Forgotten Book: Murder in Piccadilly by Charles Kingston

 Happiness Is A Book: Friday’s Forgotten Book: Murder in Piccadilly by Charles Kingston

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Dead Drop by James L’Etoile

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Dead Drop by James L’Etoile

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: London Station: A Novel by David McCloskey

 

The fifth book about CIA agent Artemis Aphrodite Procter, London Station (Norton, September 2026) by David McCloskey is plainly inspired by recent events in the United States. There’s a new president in the White House, who it was rumored intended to lower the boom on the CIA. His pick for CIA director was an unconventional one. Bobby Jerome started a home building company with three employees and now it has more than 15,000 personnel. He has vowed to bring a business perspective to the running of the agency, despite his complete lack of knowledge or experience in the field, and reduce the budget which he considered bloated. To do so, he brought several of the senior managers of his corporation to fill the upper level slots, all as clueless as he is.

One of Jerome’s first acts is to examine how much money the CIA is spending to support its fellow agencies in other countries and sees the balance is heavily weighted on the U.S. side. He unfortunately decides to withdraw support from the British Secret Intelligence Service to better balance the relationship financially, leaving some of their agents dead as a result. The SIS is in an uproar and, after Jerome offends the chief of SIS in a meeting, he fires the CIA’s head of London Station because he is too supportive of the British. In his place Jerome appoints Artemis, despite her disinterest, and tells her she is in charge of rebalancing the relationship.

Artemis is an espionage agent to the core and she knows that all intelligence agencies work together to assess threat and defend against it. After a few more demented instructions from Jerome and his buddies, she decides she has to find a way to aggressively protect the U.S.-British relationship and its agents while she protects herself.

In the meantime the abruptly terminated former head of London Station, whose pension is being threatened by Jerome, has gone to work for a private intelligence agency run by an eccentric billionaire for a purpose as yet unclear. The former CIA chief of station still has an active Rolodex and he can draw on internal sources to help him in his new work.

Artemis has her work cut out for her in this galloping story of boots-on-the-ground tradecraft and political maneuvers punctuated with wisecracks. One of Jerome’s henchmen annoys her so severely she establishes a swear jar every time she’s tempted to smack him. By the time the book ends, she’s graduated to a large wastebasket that is overflowing with cash. McCloskey’s background in the agency and his first-hand knowledge of the work show in every scene. A very good read. Especially for fans of espionage thrillers.

 

 

·         Publisher‏: W. W. Norton & Company

·         Publication date:‎ September 29, 2026

·         Language: ‎English

·         Print length: ‎432 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1324123214

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1324123217

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link:  https://amzn.to/4iRyofB 

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night

Lesa's Book Critiques: Mrs. Claus and the Fatal Figgy Pudding By Liz Ireland

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Mrs. Claus and the Fatal Figgy Pudding By Liz Ireland

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Ghost and the Dead Librarian by Cleo Coyle

 Lesa's Book Critiques: The Ghost and the Dead Librarian by Cleo Coyle

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Curious Case of the Poisoned Professor by Lucy Connelly

 Lesa's Book Critiques: The Curious Case of the Poisoned Professor by Lucy Connelly

A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: Three Reasons to Start with Pearson Grove

A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: Three Reasons to Start with Pearson Grove: If you are looking for a complete Western romance series with strong heroines, dangerous secrets, and a Texas frontier town worth visiting, ...

Scott's Take: I’m Not The Hero: An Isekai LitRPG by Tommy Kerper, aka Sourpatchhero

I’m Not The Hero: An Isekai LitRPG by Tommy Kerper, aka Sourpatchhero, is a series of webnovels that have done so well they have been published into actual physical books. An Isekai is something where the main character is transported into another world. A LitRPG is something that is an RPG game in Literature form. Dungeon Crawler Carl was my introduction to this genre. Hoopla put a selection of books that they recommended under this genre as part of their monthly advertisement and I selected it.

 

Daniel and Orrin are lifelong friends who are basically brothers because of Orrin’s tragic backstory. Daniel is a natural born hero. When both are simultaneously hit by a truck, they are transported to a magical world where the AI that runs it decides that Daniel should be the hero. The AI assigns Daniel a quest.

 

But what do with Orrin? Orrin is given a new class (think power set) that is uncommon in this magical world and off they go. That is basic gist of the initial premise. Things are way more interesting and detailed than that, but the book blurb only tells you so much.

 

This tale is told from Orrin’s perspective who has his own struggles and issues with his new powers and magic. Daniel and Orrin are the leads of this series. Along the way they make new friends and enemies. I think the author did a very good job of making both characters interesting and powerful in their own right.

 

The second book in the series, also available on Hoopla, is titled Secrets and Strife: An Isekia LitRPG. Daniel and Orrin just are exploring a dungeon (underground realm with monsters) and along the way are caught up in a war between humans and elves.  There are currently five published novels four of which are on Hoopla. These reads are also on Kindle Unlimited. There is a sixth novel that is being posted in installments by the author online.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4zCBoT6

 

 

I read this by way of Hoopla through the Dallas Public Library System.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple © 2026

Publication Day Review: Fury in Death by J. D. Robb

 

It is September 2061 as Fury in Death by J.D. Robb begins, and Eve Dallas, a Lieutenant in the Homicide Division of NYSPD, has seen a lot of death over the years. Just today in fact as this is her second time standing over a body. While the previous situation was an accident, this one certainly was not.

 

The crime scene she is at is striking. The broken and mangled body of Lawrence Chu is something unique. Somebody beat him to death and then kept going. Whomever it was, they kept going long after he was dead. The killing is clearly a rage killing as the victim was tossed around like a rag doll.

 

He was later found by his wife, Rachel Chu, when she got home. She knows next to nothing about his job as director of bioengineering science for Banner-Wyst. She has no idea who wanted him dead to the point that they moped the walls and floor with him.

 

Dallas knows the killer had to be hyped up on something to inflict the damage that was done. It was also very personal. The main questions are of who and why, as they always are. It is up to Dallas, Peabody, and the team to identify and stop the killer. A killer who has an agenda and is showing no signs of stopping.

 

The latest in the long running series is another good read. All the familiar characters are back with much going on in the background of the murder investigation. The result is a fun and fast read where readers know from the earliest stage who is killing and why and the focus is on the chase. While not one of the best books in the series, Fury in Death by J. D. Robb is solidly good and well worth your time.

For a more detailed look at the book, make sure to read Lesa Holstine's review. 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/45wqRes

 

My digital ARC reading copy came from the publisher, St. Martin's Press, through Edelweiss, with no expectation of a positive review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: The McClintocks: A Family to Visit Again

A Writer's Life....Caroline Clemmons: The McClintocks: A Family to Visit Again:   My mother, Caroline Clemmons, wrote many kinds of Western romance, but some of her most satisfying stories are the ones that invite reader...

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Ninth Circle: A Billy Boyle WWII Mystery by James R. Benn

The 21^st appearance of Billy Boyle is scheduled for 1 September 2026. How is it possible this series has trundled along for 21 books? A book a year consistently since the introduction of Billy and his colleagues in 2006. With publishers dropping outstanding authors and wonderful series right, left, and center, James Benn continues to turn out solidly researched, strongly plotted, and beautifully written historical crime fiction and wonder of wonders, Soho Press stands back and lets him do it! Readers everywhere owe Soho their gratitude.

The Ninth Circle (Soho, September 2026) is the latest outing of Billy, part of a large Boston cop family and cousin by marriage to General Eisenhower. Only months before Germany surrenders, Billy and his sidekick Lieutenant Piotr Kazimierz go to Havana where ostensibly Billy is to liaison with the Cuban Army and Piotr is a business man seeking to establish himself in the busy capital city. Really they are to investigate the death of Lieutenant Commander Hugh Sinclair of the Royal Navy, who was shot while outside drinking his morning coffee. Someone is suspicious of them even with the plausible cover stories, as within days of their arrival a bomb is set off in a bar where they are waiting for an informant. While they escape, their informant is not so lucky, turning their job into a double homicide investigation.

Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Ian Fleming, crime boss Meyer Lansky, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor all appear in the story, as do increasingly desperate German spies. Fleming is anxious to capture one of the new German U-boats before the Russians can, conscious of the respect he would earn by doing so. Lansky has established a popular and profitable casino in Havana and has targeted Bermuda as a potential extension of operations, even though gambling is illegal there. The Duke was appointed governor of Bermuda during the war, where he and the Duchess were relatively safe.

Billy ends up working with the local thugs and Lansky himself before the homicides are resolved. Lansky assures him that he is as committed to the Allies as anyone and demonstrates that loyalty, even as he maneuvers to expand his gambling empire. Billy isn’t sure if Fleming is help or hindrance at first; he turns out to be a bit of both.

The Havana setting and its people are vividly described with historical details worked invisibly into the narrative. Faultless research, I always appreciate the author’s notes at the end. Another very good entry in the series. Historical crime fiction fans will want to add this title to their reading lists. Recommended.

 

 

·         Publisher: ‎Soho Crime

·         Publication date: ‎September 1, 2026

·         Language: ‎English

·         Print length: ‎400 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1641297484

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1641297486

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4gFcZDA 

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Shadow Friends by Tess Gerritsen

 Lesa's Book Critiques: The Shadow Friends by Tess Gerritsen

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Deception: A Joseph Gunner Thriller by Alan Parks

Deception (Pegasus Crime, 1 September 2026) by Alan Parks is the second book in the World War II thriller series about Joseph Gunner, late of the Glasgow police, seriously wounded on the front lines in France in the early days of the war. This story shifts location from Glasgow to New York during the week leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

At the end of the first book Gunner meets Nickerson, part of the espionage machine in the UK. Knowing his injuries are severe enough to confine his police work to a desk, Gunner accepted a job working for Nickerson to undermine the America First movement and to sway public opinion toward entering the war. A similar publicity campaign by German sympathizers seeks to reinforce isolationism, doing their best to keep the sleeping U.S. giant out of Europe.

Gunner and Nickerson are not above blackmail to achieve their aims. The opening chapter finds Gunner sending a beautiful young woman to maneuver a young Joe Kennedy into a hotel room, where a photographer can take compromising photographs. It works, Kennedy is willing to do anything to keep his father from seeing photos that might damage the senior Kennedy’s plans for his son. A day or two later, the young woman’s body is found in the river. Her death is ruled an accident but Gunner is convinced it was murder. He works an investigation into his duties.

Beside the Kennedys, Charles Lindbergh, jazz musician Charlie Parker, and Arthur Fellig, known for his photographs of New York City and crime scenes are among the real people who appear in the book.

While Nickerson meets with ambassadors and other diplomats to persuade them toward war and Gunner plants overly positive stories in the U.S. newspapers, they learn that a highly placed German spy has arrived in New York to sow dissension and plant a few bombs. They begin searching for him before he can do much damage.

The book is aptly named. Few of the people are who they say they are. Some change sides as they find it convenient. Gunner does not know who he can trust including Nickerson, with whom Gunner has an uneasy relationship. Nickerson comes from an elite social circle and Gunner has caught him in more than one untruth. But he knows there is nothing for him in Glasgow, so he stays with Nickerson out of financial necessity.

I am a huge fan of anything Alan Parks writes and Deception is not an exception. A complicated and fascinating and likely realistic portrayal of activities in the last days before the U.S. entered the war. For another look at the activities of the pro-war faction in the U.S. after Germany invaded Poland and before Pearl Harbor, see The Wealth of Shadows (Random House, 2024) by Graham Moore.

 

 

·         Publisher: ‎Pegasus Crime

·         Publication date: ‎September 1, 2026

·         Language: ‎English

·         Print length: ‎352 pages

·         ISBN-13: ‎979-8897101566

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link:  https://amzn.to/3Ssw2c6 

 

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2026 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Wildwood by Amy Pease

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Wildwood by Amy Pease

Scott's Take: Paladin’s Strength by T. Kingfisher (The Saints of Steel series)

Paladin’s Strength by T.  Kingfisher is the second book in The Saints of Steel series that began with Paladin’s Grace. Each book in the series spotlights a different Paladin.

 

In this one, the Paladin featured is Ishtvan, a large man who sort kind of leads what is left of “The Saints of Steel.” Ishtvan and Galen (another character from the previous book) are, allegedly, providing escort for a merchant who is in fear of bandit attack. The real mission is that they are hunting the head cutting off people from the first book.

 

Things are going slow, but predictable, until Clara, a slave who is actually a nun, is won in a duel with the locals. As soon as they have her, Clara says she is not the only nun that has been kidnapped. She and the rest of her fellow nuns were taken away during a fire at their convent. Someone has kidnapped a group of nuns for some reason.

 

Of course, Clara and Ishtvan are hiding things from the other, but agree to work each with each other. Of course, there is some sort of attraction between the two of them from the moment they lay eyes on each other. As they search for the nun kidnappers as well as the folks cutting off heads, they become closer.  And that’s the plot-- can their connection survive each other’s secrets?

 

If you like the first book, this is a lot like it, but with different main characters. Ishtvan here and Stephen from the first book share a lot in common since they were picked by the same God. Their main driving emotions are duty and guilt. Clara is more of an action hero character, than a typical Kingfisher female lead, because of her own secrets. I enjoyed this book, but it has the same flaws as the first book. The fact that the god being dead does not matter and that the read is very predictable as it follows the usual template.

 

The third act has some horror elements that were unexpected. They also did not fit the tone of the book. They were a surprise and did not seem to be a natural outgrowth of the story.

 

The third book in the series is Paladin’s Hope. According to the plot synopsis, Piper is a “lich doctor” (basically a fantasy version of a coroner). He teams up with Galen (the same Galen from this book), to investigate a grisly series of murders. Galen, who suffers from violent night terrors, is supposed to protect Piper while he works. Of course, Galen wants to do more than just protect him or the read would not be a romance fantasy book. But, can Galen control himself?  They are assisted in their investigation by a Gnole. What is a Gnole you ask? Think dog/monkey/goat hybrid thing and far more helpful than the man/bear/pig on Southpark. Yes, Gnoles are also weird.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fbKEE5

 

 

 

My reading copy came through Hoopla and the Dallas Public Library System.

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026 

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Tailor by Tim Sullivan

 Lesa's Book Critiques: The Tailor by Tim Sullivan

Publication Day Review: The Tailor: A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim Sullivan

 

Who would kill a bespoke tailor?

 

That is the initial central question for DS George Cross of the Avon and Somerset police in The Tailor: A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim Sullivan. This eighth book in the series opens with a murder on a train. There is absolutely no question it was a murder.

 

The deceased man was found in the first-class bathroom of a passenger train headed from Bristol to Paddington Cross in London. Apparently, the plastic bag over his head did not fully do the job, so the killer deeply slashed the victim’s throat. He cut so deeply that the killer almost severed the head from the body.

 

That got the job done.

 

He also got away with it with nobody noticing anything at all.

 

Because the victim was wearing a bespoke suit with the label of “Titcomb & Titcomb’s of Park Street,” Detective Sergeant George Cross believes there is a good chance that the deceased is one of their clients. Within a short period of time, they learn that the deceased is one William Titcomb.

 

Not a client, but one of the owners of a long running family business. A third-generation tailor, William Titcomb was married to Min, and had two small children. His twin sister, Gwen, is also heavily involved in the business.

 

According to Gwen, he was headed to Heathrow Airport to board a flight to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for fittings with two clients. Then he was to travel on to Xiamen, China, where they have a tailoring operation and check in there. Min comes from China, has contacts, and the facility in China has been a huge boost to the family business. Mr. Titcomb was traveling with two suitcases, presumably full with the suits for the clients in Dubai. Those  suitcases and their contents are missing.

 

Where are the suitcases? Who killed the bespoke tailor? Was he killed for the suits?

 

Just some of the questions that DS George Cross and the assembled team must answer in The Tailor: A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim Sullivan. If the case was not enough, Cross and several others have to deal with professional and personal upheaval in their lives. For one thing, as long-time readers know, Josie Ottey, has been promoted. That means she is now superior in rank to Cross.

 

An issue that Cross is slowly adjusting to as it has been very hard for him as social situations are very difficult. Ottey’s promotion means that she will no longer be with him in the field conducting interviews and gathering information. That fact also means that she won’t be around to manage him or smooth over awkward situations with those he talks to as he goes about investigations. That has the potential to be a real problem for Cross and a huge problem for the next person in that role.

 

Then there is a family situation for Cross that is best left to the reader to discover. I don’t want to reveal more as it could be construed as a spoiler as it is a major piece of the plot. However, for those readers, like me, who have gone through the death of a loved one due to cancer and absolutely hate cancer storylines, it is not that. In fact, the issue here is not remotely medically related in any way, shape, or form. You can rest easy on that aspect of the read.

 

The Tailor: A DS George Cross Mystery by Tim Sullivan is a complicated, fast moving, and highly entertaining read. Much is going on in many different ways in the latest book in this long running series. This review just skims the surface of this very good book.

 

Strongly Recommended.

 

Author Website: https://timsullivanusa.com/ 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fjUNAD

 

My digital ARC came from the publisher, Grove Atlantic, of Atlantic Crime, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a positive review.

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026